Cut to the Scene

****

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of the trademarks. Joss Whedon does, and he makes a lot more money than I do. Don't come after me!

****

There is a scent of some dark musk in the room. She can taste it. Her whitest mary jane styled shoes give way to a set of pale legs. Her dress is stained as if it has not been washed in ages. Her hair is jet black. A slender hand reaches for the nightstand where she has left a glass of what appears to be wine. Her eyes are closed; she has no need for sight in this instance. She can smell where her desire comes from.

Equally strong is the sense that she is not alone.

"I wondered how long it would be before you found me," she grins before tasting her liquor. She lets the taste linger on her tongue. She can sense his wonder and curiosity peaking.

"You.. look just like her." His thick British accent aroused her instantly. "Well, except the black hair and the non-tanned skin, but everything else.."

"I was waiting for you here. I know you have a fondness for this place." As she sits up in bed, his eyes widen.

"You really do."

She laughed, "You know, I really do. You wanna know why?"

"I wager you're going to tell me. If I can keep a secret." Spike snarls a toothy grin, mischievous and her arousal goes even further.

"Oh no, I want you to open your mouth. Even if it is to scream. Especially if it is to scream." She smiles and swings her legs across the bed, sitting up fully. "This is definitely much more fun." She vamps out.

Spike can't react. All of his senses keep him locked to the one spot. Even as she walks towards him. Even as she digs her nails into the flesh of his neck. Even as her teeth scrape along his collarbone. Even as she pierces his flesh. He barely reacts at all, as if in paralysis. This unnerves her.

"You're not going to scream?" but she can see his jaw clench as though he is trying not to say anything. He doesn't know what to make of it. She can feel it running through his body. He can't decide if he wants to take her or kill her.

She likes that.



* * *


He climbs the stairs of 1630 Revello Drive. He only knocks because it's polite. And he wants to stay on Buffy's mother's good side. With a new player in town, he has to be extra careful. The revocation of his invite hurt, but not enough to stay away. He drops his cigarette on the porch, stamping it out with his foot.

"Spike, uh, what are you doing here?" Joyce's pursed face tells him everything he needs to know. Buffy has told her everything. She's not nearly as pretty when she's angry. Not like Buffy at all.

With his best coy look, he looks up at her. "I came by with a spot of information for your daughter." A minor pause for affect. "I'm not asking for an invitation."

Joyce looked around the neighborhood before sighing, "Talk fast, before she gets home."

* * *

"It's done. Can I go now?" He was angry. She could hear it in his voice. She could smell something on him that was wrong. Something that told her he would betray her in the end.

So she used it.

"You're in love with her! I should have known!" She laughed hard and long. "Well, I've got a special surprise for you. I'll tell you my plan; you might just like it."

She caught a glint of mischief in his eye.

* * *

There was a clink of the bell above the Magic Box door. Willow and Tara followed it, hand in hand.

Buffy smiled up at them. "Hey!"

"How are we coming with the whole Glory situation?" Willow was in serious mode. This killed any hopes of lighthearted conversation Buffy could have. Always business. She was tired of being always business.

There were always demons to fight and worlds to save. Always friends in need. No one ever stopped to think about her needs. Riley just left her. She needed more than work to keep her mind off it. She needed her friends, and they were all off in the Land of the Happy Couples. She still didn't understand Anya and Xander's relationship. She was always hurting feelings with her bluntness; he was always condescending to her about humanity. What could be so great about that?

Then she remembered: sex. They seemed to talk about that more than anything else. Buffy remembered the first time her and Riley had sex.

It wasn't all sweetness and romance. After patrol with the Initiative, the urge was overpowering. Side by side, killing demons. No wonder she and Angel had such strong chemistry. No wonder her sex with Riley was fast and furious that night. Faith was right all along.

Willow was still staring at her. "Uh, you okay, Buffy?"

"Oh, fine. Didn't get much sleep last night with the slaying and the not sleeping."

Willow seemed to accept this situation. Watching her and Tara together was like watching a modern day musical. Nothing could ever go wrong in that relationship. They seemed to bring out the best of each other. Tara became more outgoing, more comfortable in her own shell. Not like the days when she would have stuttered through most of her sentences. Willow explored every part of her she had kept hidden since the days of hiding A Charlie Brown Christmas from her family.

And it wasn't like Buffy was jealous in a bad way. Things just weren't like that between her and Riley. Sure there was chemistry and she cared about him, but she realized she never really loved him. She was sure he knew it, too. Never loved him, practically used him to make her feel as though she could have a nice boy if she wanted one. That she didn't need a certain dark, brooding man who left her to fight evil in LA. She needed him to move on. She just didn't count on hurting him as badly as she had. She wondered now what he was doing or if he ever thought of her. She wanted him to want her, but she knew it was for the best that they parted.

Then there was Spike. Spike who seemed to show up in time to show her Riley's bad Vamp habits. Spike who seemed to spring up from her basement just when she needed help from the Queller demon. How he showed up in time to pretty much help her with everything. And he didn't do that disappearing act that Angel used to do. He wasn't very stealthy. Well, not with her anyway.

She realized she had wandered from relationship woes, to sexual woes, to Spike. That both confused and repulsed her. Spike? Please, what am I thinking?

"Buffy's got her thinking cap on." Xander was staring at her from across the table.

"We're not going anywhere with these books. She's not in these. We know she's a God. How the hell am I supposed to fight a God?" Her eyes were wild with nervousness. She was fairly certain most of her friends had seen it before.

"Don't worry. The good guys always win. Or is that, the nice guys always finish las-" Xander broke off, realizing he wasn't helping and that he might get hurt. He jumped up, notifying the entire shop he was on a donut crawl.

Buffy pouted and flopped her head down against a book. "This is useless. I can't give Dawn to her. I can't defeat her. What do I do? Giles! Some help here?"

Giles stepped out from behind the counter, mumbling, "Of course you need help. I'm not giving much, am I?"