Blood and velvet

Part one: The Morning After

The sun sent deadly slivers of light through the think ivory drapes and hesitant to move at all spike lays perfectly still, horrified and yet slightly amused by the situation he had gotten himself into. Leave it to him to forget the whole vampire and sun thing when his distressed drunk ass passed out the night before waiting for his 'Bit to return home. He had been so out of it he didn't even wake when she did show up. But she was there - he could smell the vanilla sweetness of her hair and skin and sure enough, a few minutes later he heard the shower start. He forces the intruding dirty thoughts out of his mind in favor of well . . . anything else. He wished suddenly for the strength to leave, but it was pointless now that the sun raged on overhead. He had to stay right where he was and do what he had come to do. He had come to beg forgiveness because he had been bad, very bad, had done something he knew he should bloody well staked for. If Buffy ever found out he knew he would be. But she wasn't around and this was between him and his 'Lil Bit.

  Shortly after his 'lil Bit made her way down the stairs fully clothed with a head that ached, a dry mouth and a desire to crawl straight back into bed. She stops short as she sees Spike and runs to the windows and pulls down the blinds pulling the room back into protective darkness. "Spike?!" She asks, worry in her voice.

"Hey luv" He greets with a weak smile as he sits up and rubs his face, cringing slightly. "You wouldn't happen to have any blood handy would 'ya 'Bit?"

"Every ounce of blood in this house is mine." She answers shortly, her face and voice void of emotion. "I prefer to keep it in my veins."

"What about my blood?" He asks in a defeated tone. He hated it when she withdrew like that. She seemed to be able to summon a coldness beyond her human years, making it damn impossible to read her.

"Oh. I was assuming you meant human blood."

"'Bit . . . "He shrugs "I don't know what to say." He admits dumbly. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah?" She asks unconcerned. She leaves for the kitchen with Spike in tow.

"I don't know what bleedin well got into me, I would never hurt you. You know that right?"

"Sure." She pulls out a few v8 bottles from the fridge and holds them up for spike to see. "Beef or pork?" She asks.

"beef." He answers, smiling a bit at the slight smile on her lips. He hated both and she knew it but with the chip in his head he hadn't been able to enjoy a decent meal in years. He realizes something - she was pretending nothing had happened. It was their usual way of resolving fights but this was different he deserved more. "I deserve more than that. Don't give me the silent treatment" He pleads. He couldn't deal with the silence. He didn't know where he stood with silence "Please say what you feel, don't do the girl thing. I hate the girl thing." She smiles at him and hands him the bottle, which he drinks hungrily despite wanting to give her his full attention.

   "You were hungry. Enough said." She goes about getting a bowl of cereal, paying no mind at all to him. He watches her suspiciously expecting a verbal attack any moment.

"Dawn?" She glances at him. "You trusted me and I abused that trust. I could've hurt you. Now scream at me, claw at me, do something. Please Nibblet." He stares at her intensely and she meets it with a slightly annoyed look.

"Don't be such a drama queen. " She grumbles. "I trusted you. I still trust you."

"I bit you!"

She laughs coldly. He feels even more desperate. "You only took a drop if any at all. I'm not dead, I'm not upset, I'm fine so drop it."

"You're not fine -"

Dawn cuts him off," Don't tell me how I feel. I have a hang over ok? If this were any other day I would be that chipper lil bit of a lass you seem to expect me to be but right now . .  " she stops and cringes as a wave of nausea washes over her.

"'Bit?" Spike inquires worriedly.

"I'm fine." She murmurs. "Drank a little to much last night."

Fighting all his instinctive protectiveness he forces himself to sit still as she rummages through a drawer in search of painkillers. "Can I help?" He asks.

"I'm no damsel in distress. I can find a fucking bottle ok?" She frowns surprising even herself with her temper, she smiles apologetically at the vampire sitting hunched over like a child punished. "I'm sorry. I'm stressing out that's all."

"about?" he inquires hopefully.

She takes a moment to answer, searching his face for something. "School." She answers flatly before returning to her search for the Tylenol she knew had to be there.

   Sleeping restlessly on the living room sofa, a cordless phone rang startling him so much that he had fallen right off the sofa with a loud thud and a string of curses. "'ello?" He finally manages "Dawn? No, she's .  . . Oh hey there slayer . . . . no, she didn't say.  . . I'm visiting the lass, what's it to you? . . . i can't exactly leave at this hour now can I? . . . oh sure, you going to travel 6 hours to enforce that? . . . is something wrong? It's not another bleedin apocalypse is it?  . . . oh bugger off then.'' He hangs up, gently so as to not give her the satisfaction of knowing she had got to him.  He couldn't stand her lately, ever since Dawn had moved to the city he just happened to be in she wouldn't let him be. She somehow expected him to know Dawn's where abouts, how she was doing, *who* she was doing, and he was supposed to do this while keeping the greatest distance between them possible.

   Silly slayer. Until last night's little lust slip he and the 'lil bit were pals. She was the only friend he had he actually didn't want dead at some point or another. Of course he hadn't exactly gone about keeping things on a friendly level very well. He fell for her. He could no longer look at her without wanting to nail her to the floor, or perhaps just open a door, or pull out a chair like blokes did for the girls they fancied back in the day. If she knew what torture it was to be with her and how much worse it was to be apart she might cut him some slack, or more likely she'll call big sis and big sis would hunt his ass down and stake him. Damn woman, why were the ones he didn't have a chance in hell with the ones he wanted? A crazy vampire, a vampire slayer, and to top it all off the slayer's kid sister.

   Sighing spike flicks on the telly, puts it on mute and then stares at the flickering images with out interest. He would leave at dusk, and not until Dawn came to say it was all right would he set foot into this house again. It was just too dangerous. Everything smelled like her. Everything in it was her's and he wanted it all. 

  4 Hours later spike had yet to move. The sun was set and it was safe to leave but he couldn't get his feet to move. He just needed to see if she was all right, and though lurking in the darkness to watch her was tempting she wouldn't take it to well if she found out. She was 19 but still had a child's defiance and she wouldn't see it for what it was (an act of love) but as a way of looking out for her, controlling her. Would accuse him of doing it all for Buffy.

  2 hours later is relieved to hear 'lil Bit's steps coming up the drive but is startled to hear another's as well. A man's no doubt. He pushes his anger back as he hears yet another and is appalled when he hears the shrill laugh of the slayer. He fights the impulse to hide and simply smoothes his bleached blonde hair and attempts to straighten up his clothes. He forces himself to look casual as he takes the telly off mute and leans back into the sofa.