SUMMARY: Spike gets a new toy he wasn't expecting, and Willow finds out that life--and Gods--can sometimes throw humans for a loop.
TITLE: Order Now
AUTHOR: sinecure
RATED: R
PAIRING: W/S (3/?)
DISCLAIMER: Joss and ME own BtVS, I don't, and the way these past seasons are going, I'm glad I don't.
DEDICATED: To Claudia, because, not only is she the best beta ever, but she's also quite the friend. She kicks ass on grammar--just call her the Hyphen Queen, I do--spelling, characterization, plot. She makes my job a whole hell of a lot easier... even when she's killing my poor little defenseless plot-babies. ;)
PART 3
Well, she had her answers. Apparently she wasn't meant to find happiness with Tara anymore. Too bad, she thought, kicking at a rock as she entered the cemetery gates, I'm going to be happy with Tara anyway. "So there," she muttered.
Clutching tighter to her stake, she paid more attention to her surroundings, listening for sounds of something coming. This stupid shortcut back to campus was the dumbest possible move the city could've made. She was halfway convinced the city planners were all vampires; everything seemed to favor them in someway.
Noises up to her left drew her attention from her ruminating thoughts. Thinking at night got ya dead. She needed to pay more attention to where she was and what she was doing.
Crunching leaves and breaking twigs sounded, drawing closer. She was undecided. Leave and increase her odds of living, or stay and fight, decreasing her odds of living?
As the sounds grew louder, the decision was taken out of her hands. Two figures came toward her in the darkness, a man and a woman. Familiar figures. Thank God.
"Xander, Anya," she called, waving to them and moving closer. "You scared me. The bejesus? It's gone. Yep, right out of me."
Xander chuckled. "Willow mine? Why are you out here alone with no super power backing you up?"
Anya scoffed at Xander, dropping his hand to turn to him. "I wanted super powers backing us up too, but you said we were fine. I want super powers, or I want to go home." She paused, frowning for a second, but then her face cleared. "Buffy's gone, so let's go home."
"Nice try, Anya," Xander laughed. "We're taking up the slack Buffy left behind by questing, remember?"
Willow laughed at the frustrated look that crossed Anya's face.
"Spike," Anya said suddenly. "He's strong. I've seen his arms, they're all muscular and--"
"Hey," Xander interrupted, holding his hand up for silence. "When did you see Spike's arms and why do you care what his arms look like?"
"He lived in your basement, Xander," Anya sighed, hugging his arm to her. "He was always there and sometimes he had his shirt off." She smiled, squeezing his biceps. "I like your arms too."
Willow clamped her mouth shut tight to keep from saying anything. A smirk was trying so hard to make it to her lips, but she refused to let it. Xander was irritated enough, he didn't need her riding him too. "Uh, so... you go do that then, and I'll go..." she giggled, trying to cover it up by clearing her throat. "I'll go help Tara with Dawn."
"Oh no you don't," Xander said loudly, grabbing her arm and swinging her back around. "You're helping. In fact," he said with relish, seeing her snickering, "you're going to go get him."
"Me?" she asked, her eyes widening on Xander and Anya's smirking faces. "But, why me? You're the two who are patrolling. I'm just..." she moved her hands in a slope in front of her, "passing through. To protect Dawn. I need to help protect Dawn."
"Nice try," Anya said, echoing Xander's words from earlier. She grabbed Willow's other arm and together she and Xander dragged Willow along with them toward Spike's crypt.
Since he lived in this very cemetery, the walk was a short one. Two minutes. Two minutes of her trying to talk them out of this. "Guys, guys, come on, really, I don't like Spike... a whole lot, uh, at all," she admitted, keeping to herself the part where she was afraid of him. He just made her really nervous and jittery. "I don't talk to Spike, you know, at all, and when I do it's 'cause I'm trying to talk him out of killing me. Not a conversation conducive to getting to know someone. So I'm not the right person to talk to him... about anything. He's, you know, a vampire, what could I possibly have to say to make him do anything?" she asked, looking from one silent face to the other. "I'll tell you what. Nothing, that's what. He makes me nervous and babble-y. I don't want to--"
Xander pushed her in front of Spike's crypt and held her there while he knocked on the door. Loudly and with a lot of force. He was sure to hear it. More than likely so had a zillion other creatures in the cemetery.
Xander and Anya walked a few yards away, watching her to make sure she didn't run off. Well, fine.
"Uh, Spike..." she called softly. Clearing her throat, she raised her voice a little. "Spike, it's-- it's me, Willow. I was... um, could I--" hearing groaning coming from inside, she leaned closer to the door, listening. Was he hurt?
"Oh God-- come in."
He had to be hurt, she thought. Turning the handle on the door, she shoved it open and hurried inside. Her eyes scanned the candle-lit interior for him. Why else would he sound so-- "Oh my God!" she gasped, closing her eyes and turning away, covering her eyes with her hands for good measure.
"Willow!" he ground out, sounding way more than just angry. "What the hell, don't you guys knock?" She heard a lot of rustling around, and feet scuffling. Naked feet to go along with naked Spike.
"I knocked," she said quickly. "Well, Xander knocked and I called, and you said come... oh." Realization hit her. He hadn't been inviting her in. He'd been-- oh boy. Laughter bubbled up.
"What the bloody hell is so funny?" he asked in irritation.
You, she wanted to say. Naked you doing sex things with-- was anyone there with him? Resisting the urge to turn around and look, she kept her eyes tightly closed and headed toward the door, peeking quickly so she wouldn't smack into the wall, knocking herself out. That would be the perfect ending to the worst night of... this month.
"Spike, who's--" a woman started to ask.
"Shh. Willow," he said quickly, "don't uh... don't-- just stay there, damn it." She halted in her tracks, wondering why on Earth he wanted her to remain there. "And be quiet."
"I didn't say anything," she scoffed, planting her hands on her hips. He didn't have to be such a jerk. It wasn't her fault she'd walked in on him and... whoever she was. Curiosity was eating away at her, but she refused to turn around, that would make for an awkward introduction.
Not to mention seeing more naked Spike. Although... her head was turning and her eyes were opening to get another gander at him before she realized it. Snapping them shut again, she turned back around.
No ogling Spike! Even if he was completely ogle-able... or something.
"Um, ya know what?" she called loudly, "I'm s-- sorry. I'm sorry. I'll just--" she pointed to the door and started heading that way again. She had to get out of there right now because her hormones were going nuts. For some reason she was hyper-aware of him and growing way more aware than she needed to be by the second.
"Stay there," she heard him say, but she wasn't sure who he was talking to this time. So she remained still. Shuffling footsteps sounded behind her as he moved from behind the end of the sarcophagus. The woman, who had to be kneeling or sitting on the floor by where he'd been standing, didn't move or say anything.
A tiny twinge of... something unidentifiable slithered through her, making her shift uncomfortably. Who was Spike having sex with? Well, she assumed they were having sex, at the moment he'd only been getting... um, oral sex and-- wow, why did that make her want to squirm?
She heard cloth moving against skin and tried very hard not to imagine Spike stepping into a tight pair of jeans. His well-muscled arms, just like Anya had said, would pull the material up, encasing those trim hips she'd gotten only a glimpse of and-- Tara. Think Tara. That was safe. Sweet, loving, caring Tara who's soft pale body was... okay, not so great an alternate train of thought.
No more naked thoughts. Bad, bad, bad. Better to think of everyone clothed, much better.
A zipper sounded, followed closely by a jangling belt being buckled. If she groaned, would he hear it? she wondered.
"Spike," the woman tried again, and Willow was sure she knew that voice, but she couldn't place it.
"Quiet," he warned. Willow heard boots ringing on the stone floor and then a whispered conversation. "Stay here, no matter what," he told the woman. "Just like before, okay?"
"Ye--" the woman began, once again cut off by Spike.
"No," he told her. "Shh." A kiss followed, and Willow blushed, not entirely comfortable with witnessing such an intimate moment, even if her back was turned and her eyes... well, they were now wide open, but turned away.
"Come on," Spike told her, grabbing her arm and yanking her out the door. Slamming the door shut behind him, he slipped his duster on and then hauled her toward the others. "What do you want?" he asked rudely, digging through his pockets and pulling out his cigarettes.
Xander moved forward, frowning at Spike's rough treatment of her. "Hey," he said harshly, waving his stake in front of him, "hands off her, Fang."
"What did you do?" Anya asked Willow. "He's angry. Now he won't help us." She scowled at Willow, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I-- I didn't do anything," she protested, glaring at Anya. Why did Anya always have to accuse people of trying to ruin her precious time, her precious night? Other people lived in this world too. "It's your fault. You and Xander made me go talk to him. So, blame yourselves."
Spike sucked a huge amount of smoke into his lungs with a long, drawn out sigh. "I don't care whose fault it is. What the hell do you want?"
"You," Xander answered, "to help us patrol while Buffy's gone. And don't bother asking where she is, 'cause I won't--"
"On a quest," Spike said, his tone bored. "Why should I help you?"
"Because you'd be helping Buffy," Willow said softly, darting a look in his direction.
He nodded, tossing a glance over his shoulder at his crypt. "Great. Fine. Lead on then," he told them, motioning to the darkness. "Let's get this done with... I've got things to do."
More like people to do, Willow thought testily. "Okay then..." she told Xander, clapping her hands together quietly. "I've done my part, I'll just be--"
"What?" Spike demanded, yanking his cigarette from his mouth. He eyed her speculatively, shaking his head with a scoff. "Oh, no, you don't. If I go, you go. You roped me into this."
Willow shook her head, desperately wanting to get away from them now. She'd seen way more than she needed to tonight, she couldn't now spend time with him after... seeing all that stuff. Heck, it still made her blush when she and Tara did things together.
Well, mostly it made her feel really, really good, but there was also the embarrassment.
"I-- I don't... but, Xander." She turned to her best friend. Her biggest bestest friend in the whole world aside from Buffy, imploring him to help extricate her from going. "Tell him."
Xander shrugged, taking Anya's hand and pulling her along with him. "Sorry, Will. Looks like you're coming."
"Well now, wouldn't that be fun?" Spike drawled, eyeing her like a big ole pastry puff as he took a drag off his cigarette.
"Yeah," Xander enthused, looking back over his shoulder. "It'll be fun! Just like the old days, only less with the Buffy and more with the Spike."
Anya smiled encouragingly at her, pointing to the left. "You two go that way, we'll go..." she looked around and gestured to a tree-filled part of the cemetery, "that way. We'll go that way."
Willow narrowed her eyes at Anya. "You just wanna make out," she accused, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, no," Anya denied, "we're looking for evil things. You know, go good guys," she enthused, then grabbed Xander's arm and practically dragged him away with her. "Come on," she said impatiently when he stopped to look over his shoulder at her.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked Willow, tossing Spike a look that said he didn't trust him.
"No," she practically pouted, angry at being roped into this whole thing. All she'd wanted to do tonight was find out what went wrong with her spell, and maybe cuddle a little with Tara. Not get caught stealing from Giles, be forced to deal with Spike, do the spell, be forced to talk Spike into joining patrol and then be forced to patrol *with* Spike. Argh!
"Will..." Xander said, coming back toward them, pulling his arm free of Anya's tight grip. "If you want, we'll patrol together, or I could go with him and you go with Anya."
Willow took one look at Anya and knew by the furious scowl on her face that she didn't want to be anywhere near her. And Spike was looking equally angry. Xander wasn't happy and-- "Go," she said with a sigh, dropping her defensive stance. "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Xander asked, not making a move to go yet.
"She's sure, Xander, come on," Anya said with a stomp of her foot, moving forward to drag him with her again.
"She's fine with me," Spike finally said, annoyance just radiating from him. Though he also looked relieved that he wasn't going to be forced to deal with Xander.
Good, everyone was happy and there was all around goodness, except for her. Sigh.
"Okay." Xander glared hard at Spike and did the threatening thing. "Hurt her and I'll blah blah blah, you know the deal by now."
"Yes," Spike agreed with a growl, "I do."
"Good. Then you won't hurt her or let her get hurt," Xander said evenly. "We'll meet at the gates. See ya, Willow. Be careful."
"I will," she mumbled, rolling her eyes at the order. Like she was going to purposely be careless and get herself killed. That was a heck of a plan.
"Oh, and hey, I'll be careful too," Spike called loudly, laughing at the finger Xander tossed back at him. "Thanks for the concern!"
"Great," Willow muttered, watching Xander and Anya walk off and leave her there with the king of smirking. Who was now smirking at her. "What are you looking at?" she griped, striding past him.
"Aw," he teased spitefully, following after her, "pout-y little witch. Forced to be in the company of the Big Bad."
"Big Bad," she snorted, rolling her eyes at him. "When you have to give yourself a title, you're lame. I was a geeky nerd in school and I'm still cooler than you'll ever be, Spike."
"Heart, arrow, ouch," he retorted sarcastically, tossing his cigarette to the grass. "You've gotten a girlfriend, gotten a little bit better at magick--a little," he specified, "and it's been another year, but you're still the same highschool loser you were two years ago."
She stopped walking and grabbed his arm, turning to face him. "That isn't going to work on me again, Spike." Glancing in the direction Xander and Anya were heading, she said, "It *has* been a year and I get that you need to make others feel lower than you to boost yourself up into a big manly guy-type... thing, but--"
Spike snorted, his body shaking with laughter, his eyes amused as they landed on her. "You just have this amazing way with words, love."
"But," she said louder, talking over him, "I'm on to you, pal. Yeah, that's right, so don't expect sad faces and moping this time."
"Aw shucks," he sighed dramatically, swinging his arm as he snapped his fingers. "There goes my entire evil plan." Rolling his eyes, he started after the others.
She didn't get it. She'd expected anger from him, possibly embarrassment, which is one reason she hadn't wanted to come along, but what she hadn't expected was this teasing mood he seemed to be in. What was going on in that mind of his? Did sex put vampires in a better mood too?
Hmm. Strolling along behind him, she studied his back, wishing she had enough courage to ask him the questions swimming around in her mind. Like, who was the woman in his crypt-- oh my God! She stopped, turning around to gape at his crypt in the distance. She knew the voice, and since she didn't know too many women, it had to be...
"It's not Buffy," Spike tossed over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn around and face her.
She spared one last look toward his home and then hurried after him. "How'd you know I was thinking that?"
"Body language. Breathing." He glanced sideways at her. "You're like an open book."
"Am not," she denied, but left off on arguing about that in favor of finding out who the mystery woman was. "So then, who--"
"That'd be telling." He quickened his pace, forcing her to quicken her own in order to keep up with him.
She snorted rudely. "Well, duh. See, the whole reason I asked was so you'd tell me." Tired of practically running to keep pace with him, she slowed her steps.
His pace slowed a little as well and she wondered when he'd gained manners.
"Get your condom spell done?" he inquired, tossing a glance at her. Oh, and look, there was a smile on his face; a genuine smile with no smirking.
"Yes. I did." Unzipping her sheepskin coat, she pulled the feather from the inside pocket and held it out to him. "Condor feather."
He took the feather from her, holding it in front of his eyes as he twirled it in his fingers. "What's this? Presents, love? Tsk, I'm not that kinda guy," he said, acting all offended. He handed it back to her with a frown, stiffening beside her as he looked around cautiously.
"Vampire?" she asked, exchanging the feather for her stake. The stake dropped to the ground as a hand slid around her mouth, cutting off her scream. She was hauled back into a cold, hard body.
"Well, this is odd," a voice said from behind her. "You're alive." Another hand slipped around her waist, holding her tight against him, not even letting her elbow swing back to catch him in the gut.
Rude vampire.
"Yeah," she snorted, shrugging at his stupid comment, "we humans usually are alive. It's a thing."
Spike sighed and rubbed his forehead in irritation. "Let her go," he said flatly, as if reading lines from a prompter. "If you don't let her go, I'll have to kill you."
Willow stared at him as the vampire behind her burst out laughing. "Excuse me?" she yelled, staring angrily at Spike. The hand over her mouth muffled her words, and the tiny little cuss word she aimed Spike's way. Judging by his chuckle, he got the gist of it though. "Jerk," she muttered.
Spike moved closer... so slowly that he actually wouldn't be any help this century. She rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.
"When I saw you earlier," the vampire behind her began, "wasn't she... different?"
"Yeah," Willow muttered, "a different woman entirely, you idiot."
"So, uh, what happened?" His hand tightened on her mouth as he lowered his mouth to her neck.
She screamed in that wonderfully muffled way that his hand was allowing and struggled to get free, but he was stronger than her. Much stronger. Time for some kick-butt magick. She closed her eyes and concentrated all her energy on being released, but suddenly the conversation going on around her caught her attention.
"... your pet?" the vampire behind her was laughing. "I don't see any marks on her. Oh, wait..." his voice went high and squeaky, "there's one tiny little bite mark right..." he fastened his mouth over the bite mark Harmony had left behind and started to press down.
"Ow! Ow!" she yelled, kicking him in the shin.
Spike moved directly in front of her, staring past her at the vampire. "Hey," he said, his voice low, his tone even. "Didn't I just say she was mine?"
"Yours?" Willow laughed, realizing the stupidity of that comment as soon as she said it. He was trying to help, and here she was being an idiot by refuting him. She abruptly stopped laughing and nodded frantically. "I mean, yes, I'm his, absolutely. Yes, his. Spike's... I'm all Spike's. Uh..." she tried to turn her head to look behind her, but all she could move was her eyes, "let me go now?"
He didn't let her go, but he did lower his hand from her mouth, which was moist from her breathing all over it. "That right, sweety?" the vampire whispered. "Is this Billy Idol wannabe yours?"
"Yes," she stated with conviction, glaring at Spike when he smirked at her. "We're, uh, like that," she said, crossing her fingers and holding them up for the vampire to see. "Like two peas in a pod."
"Where are your bite marks then? All I see is this one." His finger traced the pulse point along her neck, making her shiver at the light touch.
"They're--" she began, but Spike cut her off.
"They're in more... intimate spots." He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side, smirking at the other vampire. "Right, love?"
She nodded slowly, sighing at the position she was currently in. All this Spike exposure could not be good for a person. And the sex talk with Spike exposure, was verging on dangerous. The way his eyes were dipping down her blouse and his lips were curling into a sexy smile, it was doing things to her that it shouldn't be. He was gross, a pig. In love with Buffy and she was gay and there was no reason for her to wonder just where Drusilla had bite marks. Or the woman in the crypt.
She looked away quickly, not wanting Spike to guess her train of thought which went way beyond wrong.
"Yes, right," she agreed softly, shifting uncomfortably against the vampire behind her. His hand slipped under her shirt, touching the skin of her stomach. She slapped his hand away, pushing against it, but it remained there. "Do you mind? I'm his, remember? Not yours. So back off!" she said angrily, tired of being manhandled.
He growled at her, bravely ignoring both of them in his pursuit of touching her. "Nothing here," he told them. "No bites. Now that's odd. With her being your pet and all."
Spike's eyes dropped back down to her breasts, causing all sorts of red colors to come out from her blush. So many men, so many vampires, so many heated looks. This wasn't her idea of a fun night.
"Higher," he told the vampire, his eyes flicking towards hers and then away again. "And lower."
The vampire's hand started to drift up toward her breasts and she had enough. "Stop right there, mister! Spike," she said angrily, "hello, I'm *yours* so why are you letting him feel me up?" She grabbed the vampire's hand, halting its slow journey up and sank her fingernails into the flesh, hearing a nice hiss of pain behind her. Ha. "And you!" She spun around in the vampire's grip and shoved him away from her. "Keep your filthy hands off of me."
The vampire stumbled backward from surprise more than any strength she possessed and lost his footing, tripping over his own feet to fall on his ass on the ground. "Bi--"
"Call me a bitch and I swear I'm going to stake you." She shrugged, grabbing the stake at her feet and moving forward. "Oops, gonna do it anyway."
The vampire jumped to his feet, reaching out for her at the same time as she threw the stake. She'd been aiming at the ground, since that's where he'd been laying, so it hit him in the thigh. He growled and snarled, doing the usual angry vampire routine and leapt at her.
She jumped to the side, getting an added extra push from Spike who obviously thought she was in the way.
He yanked the stake from the vampire's leg and shoved him back down to the ground. Dropping to one knee beside the vampire, Spike planted the stake firmly in its chest.
"Yours," Willow snorted, standing up and brushing herself off. "Yeah, that's a plan." Rolling her eyes, she yanked her stake from his hands and stalked off.
"Saved you, didn't I?" he called after her, jumping to his feet and striding along with her. "And if you'd kept your big mouth shut he wouldn't have--"
"Eaten me too much?" she asked incredulously. He didn't get that she was mad at him for letting it go on so long, but he also didn't get that she'd had to rely on him. In times of trouble, she was supposed to be the big gun, the magick friend. The witch with the mojo. She'd come up empty this time though, and had to be saved by Spike.
That galled her no end.
"Wouldn't that be fun?" he laughed, passing by her with long strides.
She stopped walking, staring at his back furiously. "No. No, that would *not* be fun, Spike. Fun is something normal people have with things that don't include death and torture and dismemberment." She kicked at a headstone as she resumed walking, hurting her foot in the process. "Stupid vampire."
He turned around impatiently, waiting for her to catch up with him, rolling his eyes when he saw her limping. "Didn't mention dying. Or pain or torture. Not even dismemberment."
She frowned at him, wondering what on Earth he was talking about, and then she got it, mostly because of his sudden leer. "You're a--"
"Pig," he sighed, walking beside her when she finally caught up. "And a monster. I'm not worthy of being near you precious human beings." He recited the words almost by rote, sounding nothing more than disappointed. In her?
She tossed him a sideways glance. "I didn't say that. It's just that you're... well, you always have to be disgusting when you're around us. It gets old. And annoying. And irritating. And--"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I get it. And you know, being around you all is no picnic for me. All that ooey gooey sappiness seeping from you, contaminating me with its very presence." He gave a shudder, looking so disgusted she rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, Spike."
TITLE: Order Now
AUTHOR: sinecure
RATED: R
PAIRING: W/S (3/?)
DISCLAIMER: Joss and ME own BtVS, I don't, and the way these past seasons are going, I'm glad I don't.
DEDICATED: To Claudia, because, not only is she the best beta ever, but she's also quite the friend. She kicks ass on grammar--just call her the Hyphen Queen, I do--spelling, characterization, plot. She makes my job a whole hell of a lot easier... even when she's killing my poor little defenseless plot-babies. ;)
PART 3
Well, she had her answers. Apparently she wasn't meant to find happiness with Tara anymore. Too bad, she thought, kicking at a rock as she entered the cemetery gates, I'm going to be happy with Tara anyway. "So there," she muttered.
Clutching tighter to her stake, she paid more attention to her surroundings, listening for sounds of something coming. This stupid shortcut back to campus was the dumbest possible move the city could've made. She was halfway convinced the city planners were all vampires; everything seemed to favor them in someway.
Noises up to her left drew her attention from her ruminating thoughts. Thinking at night got ya dead. She needed to pay more attention to where she was and what she was doing.
Crunching leaves and breaking twigs sounded, drawing closer. She was undecided. Leave and increase her odds of living, or stay and fight, decreasing her odds of living?
As the sounds grew louder, the decision was taken out of her hands. Two figures came toward her in the darkness, a man and a woman. Familiar figures. Thank God.
"Xander, Anya," she called, waving to them and moving closer. "You scared me. The bejesus? It's gone. Yep, right out of me."
Xander chuckled. "Willow mine? Why are you out here alone with no super power backing you up?"
Anya scoffed at Xander, dropping his hand to turn to him. "I wanted super powers backing us up too, but you said we were fine. I want super powers, or I want to go home." She paused, frowning for a second, but then her face cleared. "Buffy's gone, so let's go home."
"Nice try, Anya," Xander laughed. "We're taking up the slack Buffy left behind by questing, remember?"
Willow laughed at the frustrated look that crossed Anya's face.
"Spike," Anya said suddenly. "He's strong. I've seen his arms, they're all muscular and--"
"Hey," Xander interrupted, holding his hand up for silence. "When did you see Spike's arms and why do you care what his arms look like?"
"He lived in your basement, Xander," Anya sighed, hugging his arm to her. "He was always there and sometimes he had his shirt off." She smiled, squeezing his biceps. "I like your arms too."
Willow clamped her mouth shut tight to keep from saying anything. A smirk was trying so hard to make it to her lips, but she refused to let it. Xander was irritated enough, he didn't need her riding him too. "Uh, so... you go do that then, and I'll go..." she giggled, trying to cover it up by clearing her throat. "I'll go help Tara with Dawn."
"Oh no you don't," Xander said loudly, grabbing her arm and swinging her back around. "You're helping. In fact," he said with relish, seeing her snickering, "you're going to go get him."
"Me?" she asked, her eyes widening on Xander and Anya's smirking faces. "But, why me? You're the two who are patrolling. I'm just..." she moved her hands in a slope in front of her, "passing through. To protect Dawn. I need to help protect Dawn."
"Nice try," Anya said, echoing Xander's words from earlier. She grabbed Willow's other arm and together she and Xander dragged Willow along with them toward Spike's crypt.
Since he lived in this very cemetery, the walk was a short one. Two minutes. Two minutes of her trying to talk them out of this. "Guys, guys, come on, really, I don't like Spike... a whole lot, uh, at all," she admitted, keeping to herself the part where she was afraid of him. He just made her really nervous and jittery. "I don't talk to Spike, you know, at all, and when I do it's 'cause I'm trying to talk him out of killing me. Not a conversation conducive to getting to know someone. So I'm not the right person to talk to him... about anything. He's, you know, a vampire, what could I possibly have to say to make him do anything?" she asked, looking from one silent face to the other. "I'll tell you what. Nothing, that's what. He makes me nervous and babble-y. I don't want to--"
Xander pushed her in front of Spike's crypt and held her there while he knocked on the door. Loudly and with a lot of force. He was sure to hear it. More than likely so had a zillion other creatures in the cemetery.
Xander and Anya walked a few yards away, watching her to make sure she didn't run off. Well, fine.
"Uh, Spike..." she called softly. Clearing her throat, she raised her voice a little. "Spike, it's-- it's me, Willow. I was... um, could I--" hearing groaning coming from inside, she leaned closer to the door, listening. Was he hurt?
"Oh God-- come in."
He had to be hurt, she thought. Turning the handle on the door, she shoved it open and hurried inside. Her eyes scanned the candle-lit interior for him. Why else would he sound so-- "Oh my God!" she gasped, closing her eyes and turning away, covering her eyes with her hands for good measure.
"Willow!" he ground out, sounding way more than just angry. "What the hell, don't you guys knock?" She heard a lot of rustling around, and feet scuffling. Naked feet to go along with naked Spike.
"I knocked," she said quickly. "Well, Xander knocked and I called, and you said come... oh." Realization hit her. He hadn't been inviting her in. He'd been-- oh boy. Laughter bubbled up.
"What the bloody hell is so funny?" he asked in irritation.
You, she wanted to say. Naked you doing sex things with-- was anyone there with him? Resisting the urge to turn around and look, she kept her eyes tightly closed and headed toward the door, peeking quickly so she wouldn't smack into the wall, knocking herself out. That would be the perfect ending to the worst night of... this month.
"Spike, who's--" a woman started to ask.
"Shh. Willow," he said quickly, "don't uh... don't-- just stay there, damn it." She halted in her tracks, wondering why on Earth he wanted her to remain there. "And be quiet."
"I didn't say anything," she scoffed, planting her hands on her hips. He didn't have to be such a jerk. It wasn't her fault she'd walked in on him and... whoever she was. Curiosity was eating away at her, but she refused to turn around, that would make for an awkward introduction.
Not to mention seeing more naked Spike. Although... her head was turning and her eyes were opening to get another gander at him before she realized it. Snapping them shut again, she turned back around.
No ogling Spike! Even if he was completely ogle-able... or something.
"Um, ya know what?" she called loudly, "I'm s-- sorry. I'm sorry. I'll just--" she pointed to the door and started heading that way again. She had to get out of there right now because her hormones were going nuts. For some reason she was hyper-aware of him and growing way more aware than she needed to be by the second.
"Stay there," she heard him say, but she wasn't sure who he was talking to this time. So she remained still. Shuffling footsteps sounded behind her as he moved from behind the end of the sarcophagus. The woman, who had to be kneeling or sitting on the floor by where he'd been standing, didn't move or say anything.
A tiny twinge of... something unidentifiable slithered through her, making her shift uncomfortably. Who was Spike having sex with? Well, she assumed they were having sex, at the moment he'd only been getting... um, oral sex and-- wow, why did that make her want to squirm?
She heard cloth moving against skin and tried very hard not to imagine Spike stepping into a tight pair of jeans. His well-muscled arms, just like Anya had said, would pull the material up, encasing those trim hips she'd gotten only a glimpse of and-- Tara. Think Tara. That was safe. Sweet, loving, caring Tara who's soft pale body was... okay, not so great an alternate train of thought.
No more naked thoughts. Bad, bad, bad. Better to think of everyone clothed, much better.
A zipper sounded, followed closely by a jangling belt being buckled. If she groaned, would he hear it? she wondered.
"Spike," the woman tried again, and Willow was sure she knew that voice, but she couldn't place it.
"Quiet," he warned. Willow heard boots ringing on the stone floor and then a whispered conversation. "Stay here, no matter what," he told the woman. "Just like before, okay?"
"Ye--" the woman began, once again cut off by Spike.
"No," he told her. "Shh." A kiss followed, and Willow blushed, not entirely comfortable with witnessing such an intimate moment, even if her back was turned and her eyes... well, they were now wide open, but turned away.
"Come on," Spike told her, grabbing her arm and yanking her out the door. Slamming the door shut behind him, he slipped his duster on and then hauled her toward the others. "What do you want?" he asked rudely, digging through his pockets and pulling out his cigarettes.
Xander moved forward, frowning at Spike's rough treatment of her. "Hey," he said harshly, waving his stake in front of him, "hands off her, Fang."
"What did you do?" Anya asked Willow. "He's angry. Now he won't help us." She scowled at Willow, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I-- I didn't do anything," she protested, glaring at Anya. Why did Anya always have to accuse people of trying to ruin her precious time, her precious night? Other people lived in this world too. "It's your fault. You and Xander made me go talk to him. So, blame yourselves."
Spike sucked a huge amount of smoke into his lungs with a long, drawn out sigh. "I don't care whose fault it is. What the hell do you want?"
"You," Xander answered, "to help us patrol while Buffy's gone. And don't bother asking where she is, 'cause I won't--"
"On a quest," Spike said, his tone bored. "Why should I help you?"
"Because you'd be helping Buffy," Willow said softly, darting a look in his direction.
He nodded, tossing a glance over his shoulder at his crypt. "Great. Fine. Lead on then," he told them, motioning to the darkness. "Let's get this done with... I've got things to do."
More like people to do, Willow thought testily. "Okay then..." she told Xander, clapping her hands together quietly. "I've done my part, I'll just be--"
"What?" Spike demanded, yanking his cigarette from his mouth. He eyed her speculatively, shaking his head with a scoff. "Oh, no, you don't. If I go, you go. You roped me into this."
Willow shook her head, desperately wanting to get away from them now. She'd seen way more than she needed to tonight, she couldn't now spend time with him after... seeing all that stuff. Heck, it still made her blush when she and Tara did things together.
Well, mostly it made her feel really, really good, but there was also the embarrassment.
"I-- I don't... but, Xander." She turned to her best friend. Her biggest bestest friend in the whole world aside from Buffy, imploring him to help extricate her from going. "Tell him."
Xander shrugged, taking Anya's hand and pulling her along with him. "Sorry, Will. Looks like you're coming."
"Well now, wouldn't that be fun?" Spike drawled, eyeing her like a big ole pastry puff as he took a drag off his cigarette.
"Yeah," Xander enthused, looking back over his shoulder. "It'll be fun! Just like the old days, only less with the Buffy and more with the Spike."
Anya smiled encouragingly at her, pointing to the left. "You two go that way, we'll go..." she looked around and gestured to a tree-filled part of the cemetery, "that way. We'll go that way."
Willow narrowed her eyes at Anya. "You just wanna make out," she accused, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, no," Anya denied, "we're looking for evil things. You know, go good guys," she enthused, then grabbed Xander's arm and practically dragged him away with her. "Come on," she said impatiently when he stopped to look over his shoulder at her.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked Willow, tossing Spike a look that said he didn't trust him.
"No," she practically pouted, angry at being roped into this whole thing. All she'd wanted to do tonight was find out what went wrong with her spell, and maybe cuddle a little with Tara. Not get caught stealing from Giles, be forced to deal with Spike, do the spell, be forced to talk Spike into joining patrol and then be forced to patrol *with* Spike. Argh!
"Will..." Xander said, coming back toward them, pulling his arm free of Anya's tight grip. "If you want, we'll patrol together, or I could go with him and you go with Anya."
Willow took one look at Anya and knew by the furious scowl on her face that she didn't want to be anywhere near her. And Spike was looking equally angry. Xander wasn't happy and-- "Go," she said with a sigh, dropping her defensive stance. "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Xander asked, not making a move to go yet.
"She's sure, Xander, come on," Anya said with a stomp of her foot, moving forward to drag him with her again.
"She's fine with me," Spike finally said, annoyance just radiating from him. Though he also looked relieved that he wasn't going to be forced to deal with Xander.
Good, everyone was happy and there was all around goodness, except for her. Sigh.
"Okay." Xander glared hard at Spike and did the threatening thing. "Hurt her and I'll blah blah blah, you know the deal by now."
"Yes," Spike agreed with a growl, "I do."
"Good. Then you won't hurt her or let her get hurt," Xander said evenly. "We'll meet at the gates. See ya, Willow. Be careful."
"I will," she mumbled, rolling her eyes at the order. Like she was going to purposely be careless and get herself killed. That was a heck of a plan.
"Oh, and hey, I'll be careful too," Spike called loudly, laughing at the finger Xander tossed back at him. "Thanks for the concern!"
"Great," Willow muttered, watching Xander and Anya walk off and leave her there with the king of smirking. Who was now smirking at her. "What are you looking at?" she griped, striding past him.
"Aw," he teased spitefully, following after her, "pout-y little witch. Forced to be in the company of the Big Bad."
"Big Bad," she snorted, rolling her eyes at him. "When you have to give yourself a title, you're lame. I was a geeky nerd in school and I'm still cooler than you'll ever be, Spike."
"Heart, arrow, ouch," he retorted sarcastically, tossing his cigarette to the grass. "You've gotten a girlfriend, gotten a little bit better at magick--a little," he specified, "and it's been another year, but you're still the same highschool loser you were two years ago."
She stopped walking and grabbed his arm, turning to face him. "That isn't going to work on me again, Spike." Glancing in the direction Xander and Anya were heading, she said, "It *has* been a year and I get that you need to make others feel lower than you to boost yourself up into a big manly guy-type... thing, but--"
Spike snorted, his body shaking with laughter, his eyes amused as they landed on her. "You just have this amazing way with words, love."
"But," she said louder, talking over him, "I'm on to you, pal. Yeah, that's right, so don't expect sad faces and moping this time."
"Aw shucks," he sighed dramatically, swinging his arm as he snapped his fingers. "There goes my entire evil plan." Rolling his eyes, he started after the others.
She didn't get it. She'd expected anger from him, possibly embarrassment, which is one reason she hadn't wanted to come along, but what she hadn't expected was this teasing mood he seemed to be in. What was going on in that mind of his? Did sex put vampires in a better mood too?
Hmm. Strolling along behind him, she studied his back, wishing she had enough courage to ask him the questions swimming around in her mind. Like, who was the woman in his crypt-- oh my God! She stopped, turning around to gape at his crypt in the distance. She knew the voice, and since she didn't know too many women, it had to be...
"It's not Buffy," Spike tossed over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn around and face her.
She spared one last look toward his home and then hurried after him. "How'd you know I was thinking that?"
"Body language. Breathing." He glanced sideways at her. "You're like an open book."
"Am not," she denied, but left off on arguing about that in favor of finding out who the mystery woman was. "So then, who--"
"That'd be telling." He quickened his pace, forcing her to quicken her own in order to keep up with him.
She snorted rudely. "Well, duh. See, the whole reason I asked was so you'd tell me." Tired of practically running to keep pace with him, she slowed her steps.
His pace slowed a little as well and she wondered when he'd gained manners.
"Get your condom spell done?" he inquired, tossing a glance at her. Oh, and look, there was a smile on his face; a genuine smile with no smirking.
"Yes. I did." Unzipping her sheepskin coat, she pulled the feather from the inside pocket and held it out to him. "Condor feather."
He took the feather from her, holding it in front of his eyes as he twirled it in his fingers. "What's this? Presents, love? Tsk, I'm not that kinda guy," he said, acting all offended. He handed it back to her with a frown, stiffening beside her as he looked around cautiously.
"Vampire?" she asked, exchanging the feather for her stake. The stake dropped to the ground as a hand slid around her mouth, cutting off her scream. She was hauled back into a cold, hard body.
"Well, this is odd," a voice said from behind her. "You're alive." Another hand slipped around her waist, holding her tight against him, not even letting her elbow swing back to catch him in the gut.
Rude vampire.
"Yeah," she snorted, shrugging at his stupid comment, "we humans usually are alive. It's a thing."
Spike sighed and rubbed his forehead in irritation. "Let her go," he said flatly, as if reading lines from a prompter. "If you don't let her go, I'll have to kill you."
Willow stared at him as the vampire behind her burst out laughing. "Excuse me?" she yelled, staring angrily at Spike. The hand over her mouth muffled her words, and the tiny little cuss word she aimed Spike's way. Judging by his chuckle, he got the gist of it though. "Jerk," she muttered.
Spike moved closer... so slowly that he actually wouldn't be any help this century. She rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.
"When I saw you earlier," the vampire behind her began, "wasn't she... different?"
"Yeah," Willow muttered, "a different woman entirely, you idiot."
"So, uh, what happened?" His hand tightened on her mouth as he lowered his mouth to her neck.
She screamed in that wonderfully muffled way that his hand was allowing and struggled to get free, but he was stronger than her. Much stronger. Time for some kick-butt magick. She closed her eyes and concentrated all her energy on being released, but suddenly the conversation going on around her caught her attention.
"... your pet?" the vampire behind her was laughing. "I don't see any marks on her. Oh, wait..." his voice went high and squeaky, "there's one tiny little bite mark right..." he fastened his mouth over the bite mark Harmony had left behind and started to press down.
"Ow! Ow!" she yelled, kicking him in the shin.
Spike moved directly in front of her, staring past her at the vampire. "Hey," he said, his voice low, his tone even. "Didn't I just say she was mine?"
"Yours?" Willow laughed, realizing the stupidity of that comment as soon as she said it. He was trying to help, and here she was being an idiot by refuting him. She abruptly stopped laughing and nodded frantically. "I mean, yes, I'm his, absolutely. Yes, his. Spike's... I'm all Spike's. Uh..." she tried to turn her head to look behind her, but all she could move was her eyes, "let me go now?"
He didn't let her go, but he did lower his hand from her mouth, which was moist from her breathing all over it. "That right, sweety?" the vampire whispered. "Is this Billy Idol wannabe yours?"
"Yes," she stated with conviction, glaring at Spike when he smirked at her. "We're, uh, like that," she said, crossing her fingers and holding them up for the vampire to see. "Like two peas in a pod."
"Where are your bite marks then? All I see is this one." His finger traced the pulse point along her neck, making her shiver at the light touch.
"They're--" she began, but Spike cut her off.
"They're in more... intimate spots." He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side, smirking at the other vampire. "Right, love?"
She nodded slowly, sighing at the position she was currently in. All this Spike exposure could not be good for a person. And the sex talk with Spike exposure, was verging on dangerous. The way his eyes were dipping down her blouse and his lips were curling into a sexy smile, it was doing things to her that it shouldn't be. He was gross, a pig. In love with Buffy and she was gay and there was no reason for her to wonder just where Drusilla had bite marks. Or the woman in the crypt.
She looked away quickly, not wanting Spike to guess her train of thought which went way beyond wrong.
"Yes, right," she agreed softly, shifting uncomfortably against the vampire behind her. His hand slipped under her shirt, touching the skin of her stomach. She slapped his hand away, pushing against it, but it remained there. "Do you mind? I'm his, remember? Not yours. So back off!" she said angrily, tired of being manhandled.
He growled at her, bravely ignoring both of them in his pursuit of touching her. "Nothing here," he told them. "No bites. Now that's odd. With her being your pet and all."
Spike's eyes dropped back down to her breasts, causing all sorts of red colors to come out from her blush. So many men, so many vampires, so many heated looks. This wasn't her idea of a fun night.
"Higher," he told the vampire, his eyes flicking towards hers and then away again. "And lower."
The vampire's hand started to drift up toward her breasts and she had enough. "Stop right there, mister! Spike," she said angrily, "hello, I'm *yours* so why are you letting him feel me up?" She grabbed the vampire's hand, halting its slow journey up and sank her fingernails into the flesh, hearing a nice hiss of pain behind her. Ha. "And you!" She spun around in the vampire's grip and shoved him away from her. "Keep your filthy hands off of me."
The vampire stumbled backward from surprise more than any strength she possessed and lost his footing, tripping over his own feet to fall on his ass on the ground. "Bi--"
"Call me a bitch and I swear I'm going to stake you." She shrugged, grabbing the stake at her feet and moving forward. "Oops, gonna do it anyway."
The vampire jumped to his feet, reaching out for her at the same time as she threw the stake. She'd been aiming at the ground, since that's where he'd been laying, so it hit him in the thigh. He growled and snarled, doing the usual angry vampire routine and leapt at her.
She jumped to the side, getting an added extra push from Spike who obviously thought she was in the way.
He yanked the stake from the vampire's leg and shoved him back down to the ground. Dropping to one knee beside the vampire, Spike planted the stake firmly in its chest.
"Yours," Willow snorted, standing up and brushing herself off. "Yeah, that's a plan." Rolling her eyes, she yanked her stake from his hands and stalked off.
"Saved you, didn't I?" he called after her, jumping to his feet and striding along with her. "And if you'd kept your big mouth shut he wouldn't have--"
"Eaten me too much?" she asked incredulously. He didn't get that she was mad at him for letting it go on so long, but he also didn't get that she'd had to rely on him. In times of trouble, she was supposed to be the big gun, the magick friend. The witch with the mojo. She'd come up empty this time though, and had to be saved by Spike.
That galled her no end.
"Wouldn't that be fun?" he laughed, passing by her with long strides.
She stopped walking, staring at his back furiously. "No. No, that would *not* be fun, Spike. Fun is something normal people have with things that don't include death and torture and dismemberment." She kicked at a headstone as she resumed walking, hurting her foot in the process. "Stupid vampire."
He turned around impatiently, waiting for her to catch up with him, rolling his eyes when he saw her limping. "Didn't mention dying. Or pain or torture. Not even dismemberment."
She frowned at him, wondering what on Earth he was talking about, and then she got it, mostly because of his sudden leer. "You're a--"
"Pig," he sighed, walking beside her when she finally caught up. "And a monster. I'm not worthy of being near you precious human beings." He recited the words almost by rote, sounding nothing more than disappointed. In her?
She tossed him a sideways glance. "I didn't say that. It's just that you're... well, you always have to be disgusting when you're around us. It gets old. And annoying. And irritating. And--"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I get it. And you know, being around you all is no picnic for me. All that ooey gooey sappiness seeping from you, contaminating me with its very presence." He gave a shudder, looking so disgusted she rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, Spike."