Author: Bitten And Staked

Title: Star Crossed - Chapter One - Date to patrol.

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Summary: Spike picks Buffy up for patrol and can see she needs a quiet night, but it turns out there isn't going to be a peaceful start to the evening.

Timeline: set in season 6 shortly after Buffy has come back from the dead. Buffy and Spike head out on patrol and it all starts turning a little romantic.

Series: Part 1 of 4

Pairing: Buffy and Spike. Romance, I love you.

Rating: PG13

Disclaimer: everyone else owns Buffy and all associated with her.

Feedback: always welcome so email me - webmaster@talesoftheslayer.com

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Spike threw his cigarette butt towards the tree exhaling the last of his smoke with a smile as he stepped up onto the porch, the yellow light coming from inside making his skin look sallow. Rapping his knuckles against the wood of the door he peered in through the windows, he could see Buffy at the top of the stairs as Dawn opened the door.

"Hey." Dawn wrapped him in an affectionate hug; their summer together without Buffy had bought them close to each other. Spike reminisced about all the lessons he had given her on slaying and defending herself against the bad guys, the vampires like the one she had in her death grip right now. He grinned and returned her hug, it's one way of killing us - love and affection makes us go soft.

"Ready to go?" He looked up at Buffy, now standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting with infinite patience for her sister to release Spike. Noting that she was wearing makeup he wondered if she had made other plans before receiving his phone call about patrolling. Quickly discounting it on the basis that she would have simply told him to sod off if that had been the case he surmised it must be one of those girl things to cheer herself up, making herself beautiful.

Buffy just nodded and smiled then in military fashion picked up the axe from beside the door and shoved a stake into her waistband. Spike bought her coat down from the rack and slipped it onto her slight frame, running his hands down her sleeves as she buttoned it up. Standing behind her he tilted his head closer to her breathing in the scent that he'd come to associate with her, a mixture of cherries and vanilla.

"Ready." She smiled up at him and there was tiredness in her eyes, he thought she looked as though she needed a quiet night for a change as they walked out into the cold night air.

But a quiet night had not been on the cards for them as they discovered on entering the first cemetery of the evening, immediately running into a couple of scabby looking demons. A jumbled uncoordinated fight ensued and it was more a struggle for survival than the skilled despatching of demons usually associated with the Slayer. In the end it was messy, both managing to kill their demon and both maintaining damage. Buffy collapsed against a cross breathing heavily.

"Well, that was…"

"Fun?" Spike offered whilst giving an offended look to the cross.

"Yeah. Can't wait to see what's next on the menu." She swung her arm about windmill fashion and stepped away from the cross. "I think I knocked something out of place."

Spike smiled as he walked over to her and wiggled her shoulder back into place with a small cracking noise. "Better pet?"

She windmilled her arm again and nodded. "It's those skilled hands of yours." Taking them up in hers she looked at them quizzically, they were bloodied and cut up. Buffy raised her eyes to his as a look of concern washed over her features.

"Nothing to fret over I just used my hands to block a few attacks and got a little battered in the process." He smiled at her reassuringly and she let her hands fall to her sides with an air of an embarrassed child.

"Onto the next and I get the feeling we won't be alone, I've seen a few vamps heading in there recently." Buffy swung her axe in the direction of the next cemetery and started walking.

On discovering the nest in a small crypt on the north side of the next cemetery Buffy went in with everything she had. It was more controlled and calculated slaying this time, there were five fledglings in the nest and Spike split them into two groups. He took the smaller group himself to ensure that Buffy got the most slays, she was looking like she had some issues she needed to work out and he preferred that she take it out on the fools rather than him.

When the nest was empty bar them Buffy dusted down her coat and decided that she needed something more, she felt empty and unfulfilled. Her mind was wandering into dangerous territory again as she watched Spike spitting onto the grass after receiving a mouthful of dust.

"Bloody disgusting, hope I don't taste like that." He spat again and then lit up a cigarette, blowing smoke out into the cold air.

"Oh like that will make you taste better, now you'll taste even more like ashes." She stopped as he looked at her, she hoped he would let it pass and that he wouldn't settle on the idea that her thoughts were running along intimate lines.

"You think we'll get to fight a different demon next pet? 3 out of 3." He chose to file her comment and confuse himself over it later, right now they had to patrol and there was no time for mind games.

"3 cemeteries and 3 different demons, I do hope so." She sounded sarcastic and headed off towards the gates.