Disclaimer: Still don't know anything. This is kind of a slow chapter, since it is a "bridge" chapter basically. But hope you enjoy anyway!
Explanations
"You're a vampire."
Blade twisted around, watching as Buffy slowly sauntered into the room. Her face was a mask, completely unreadable. He did, however, glance at the slight tear marks that she had tried to rub away. He stared at her neck, noticing that the bite marks were already scabbing over.
What the fuck? He asked himself. What is this girl?
"No shit," he said, staring at her.
"How?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe. "You have a heartbeat, you can go out during the day. How are you a vampire?"
"That's none of your fuckin' business," he muttered, standing up and walking towards her. He tried to leave, but she blocked his exit. "Get out of my way."
Buffy shook her head, her eyes cold as she glared at him. "No."
He growled and attempted to get by her. A moment later, he found himself being slammed into the wall on the other side of the door. He looked at her in shock as he felt the strength and power in her.
"What are you?" he asked.
"I told you. I'm the Slayer." He opened his mouth to ask more questions but she quickly cut him off. "No. I just gave you my blood. My freakin' blood. So answer my questions first. Then, I can answer yours."
They glared at each other for a moment before Blade nodded curtly. She released him and backed up, each of them finding a place to sit. Blade stared at her for a moment before sighing and looking out the window.
"Right before I was born, my mother was bitten by a vampire," he said, spitting out the last word. "The changes began to take over her body before the doctors could get me. So, I changed too. Not like she did. I took on the vampire qualities but kept many human ones. I'm a half-breed. The Daywalker."
"What happened to her?" Buffy asked quietly. Silence greeted her as Blade stared out the window. He didn't answer her question. She nodded, understanding the silence. So she changed the subject. "Who was the man that was in here before….was Whistler his name?"
Blade nodded, still staring out the window. "Yeah. He was my helper against the vampires."
"I knew a guy named Whistler once," Buffy said, eyes distant. "Not the same guy, but he had the same name. I threatened to tear his ribcage out and wear it as a hat."
Blade looked at her, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged. "I was having a bad day."
An awkward silence once again filled the room as the two stared at each other, sizing the other up. Buffy shifted slightly as she dropped her eyes. She ran a hand across a small table, leaving finger prints behind. She glanced up at him again, eyes filled with sympathy.
"I'm sorry about your friend," she said quietly. "I know what it's like to lose friends."
Blade stiffened at the words but other than that, he made no reaction. His defenses went up immediately, not wanting her to know how much it hurt. He could not afford to let anyone else get close to him.
"Do you know how much shit you're in now, girl?" he asked, his voice raspy. A fire lit in Buffy's eyes as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Obviously I don't. Why don't you enlighten me."
He ignored the sarcastic tone in her voice. He took a step forward, towering over her. She craned her neck to stare in his eyes, not willing to back down. "They'll be after you now. Now that you've helped me. You're a sitting duck to they're plans."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "They'll be after me NOW? Vampires have been after me for the last eight years or so. And you're telling me that I can't stand up to them? You don't know me – you don't know the crap I've been through. I've been to hell and back – almost literally in a way. And you're warning me? Uh uh. I don't think so."
"This isn't your fight," he hissed, his fists clenched at her attitude. "This is my fight. Got - "
"That's where you're wrong," she snapped back, cutting him off. "I was chosen to fight against them. It's my calling to fight against the demons, the vampires, and the monsters. I've gotten the speech before, I've done the work before."
"I want to help you," she said, her voice not as sharp. "You can't fight them alone, especially now that you're friend was killed. Let me help you."
Blade stared down at her, though she met his gaze unflinchingly. For a moment, there was a connection between the two. They were both people with destinies. Destinies whose paths traveled together.
Blade broke eye contact and the moment was over. But something was changed between the two. Something was different. There was a sort of an understanding between the two – the understanding that only warriors who have suffered greatly can have. He nodded as he walked towards his bed and sat on it.
"You can help," he said. "But stay out of my shit. There are some things that I have to deal with alone."
Buffy nodded, leaning against the door frame. "Fair enough."
"How the fuck do you fight them?" he asked suddenly staring at her tiny frame. "Where did your power come from? 'Cause you're a hell of a lot stronger than you look."
Buffy sighed, closing her eyes momentarily to collect her thoughts so she could put a cohesive explanation together. Memories of the past came back to her but she pushed them away, telling herself that the girl it happened to doesn't exist anymore. When she opened her eyes, Blade was surprised to see the pain that flowed through them, the anger.
"Every generation, a girl is chosen. She alone stands against the demons, the monsters. She is the Slayer," Buffy explained. "That's what my first watcher told me. To say I was confused was a hell of an understatement."
She grinned slightly. "Back then I was a total valley girl, thinking about nothing but looks, who to date, and what to wear. I was completely shallow and bitchy."
Blade grimaced at her description, glad that she had changed from the valley girl. Buffy noticed the grimace and her grin widened. "Sounds fun, huh? But then things changed. My first watcher came and introduced me to my calling – and to the demons I would have to hunt. I almost got killed the first time I went out against a vampire. But that's when I realized the amazing skill I had. I was faster, stronger, more agile, and more powerful than any person I had ever met."
"And I could throw out one-liners like no other."
"I don't know where the powers really come from – all I know is that when the Slayer before was called, I was chosen. And I've had the powers ever since."
Blade nodded at the story, sensing that there were things she was leaving out. But he didn't say anything about that. Sometimes you just had to have your secrets.
"If we're working together, we might as well see our strengths and weaknesses," Buffy said suddenly, standing upright. "Do you have anywhere where we can spar?"