Title: Blood Loss
Author: KeepTheFaith (Laura)
Feedback: May be provided here or sent to aeryncrichton@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Buffy is owned by Joss Whedon and ME, I'm just borrowing them
Spoilers: Set during season 4, after "Fear Itself"
Pairings: Buffy / Spike
Rating: R
Subject: More dancing between Buffy and Spike as they try to deal with the consequences of their attraction, Sequel to Here and Now
Blood Loss
Chapter 3 - The Question of a Claim
Willow and Oz walked down the back stairs into Xander's parents' basement. It was dank, dark and cool. A little too cool and not in a good way. Willow burrowed a little deeper within her short sleeve, orange sweater, wishing she had something covering her arms. A pink and lime green neon flower applique sewn in the center, proclaimed her quirky fashion sense. She was wishing she'd worn her burgundy cords, instead of a pair of khakis.
"Xander! Are you down here?"
"I'm over here Will," Xander replied, popping out from his previous position, crouched in front of the dryer. "Oh, hi Oz."
Oz nodded.
"Were you hiding?" Willow asked.
"What makes you ask... Oh, that. Well, sort of. I was trying to make sure I didn't get called on for more laundry duty. So, what's up?"
"Have you seen Buffy lately?"
"Nope," Xander answered. "I figured she'd been hanging with you at Sunnydale University. In the dorms and all that."
"She hasn't. I haven't seen her all week, except when she shows up for Psychology class."
"Well, that's good right? At least she's going to classes."
Willow shook her head, sending her short, red hair flying. "She's been closed mouthed about patrolling for days. Whenever I offer to help, she cuts me off before I can even finish offering."
"Maybe she's preoccupied with a new big bad." Xander shrugged.
"Why wouldn't she say something though? Maybe there's something I could do to help with research, or a spell, or something."
"Giles suggested that Buffy try to work more independently. Maybe that means she's trying to go it alone, or do as much as she can on her own."
"But we're her buds, and sometimes she needs our help." Willow looked at Oz for support. He nodded.
"Well, why don't we check in with her then?" Xander asked. "You're rooming together in the dorms, she must come home sometime to sleep, right? We'll just wait for her to get in tonight."
"Okay," Willow agreed.
***
"Do you have an answer for me? Will you accept the vampire claim?" Spike asked. His tone and manner serious, no teasing in his demeanor.
"Spike, this may have worked centuries ago, before The Watcher's Council, but what makes you think..." Buffy trailed off at the pained look in Spike's eyes.
"If you don't want this, all you soddin' have to say is no," Spike interjected. "It's quite simple really."
Buffy shook her head wildly. "The one thing this isn't - is simple."
"Nothing ever is, especially where you're concerned."
"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Buffy asked, wrinkling her brow, quite clearly rankled now that she was fielding the blame simply for being a bit on the cautious side about something she didn't fully understand yet.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Buffy resumed her pacing. Round and round rattled the thoughts in her head, like a furious puppy chasing its own tail. "I don't know."
Being claimed by Spike sounded good. Great even. Maybe a little too good to be true. Nothing was that easy. Not for her and definitely not right on top of the Hellmouth, for her a bringer of all manner of bad things. Everything of the bad; nothing of the good sprang from here, especially where it concerned her chaotic love life.
The niggling voice of doubt in the back of her mind came back to plague her with questions that had no real answers. Just what does Spike want? And how could saying yes be wrong, when everything about his offer feels so right? Just like being in his arms. Now stop that! There has got to be something wrong with Spike's suggestion. Think Buffy, think.
"Spike, you don't have a soul," Buffy pointed out.
"Hasn't seemed to worry you much this past week, pet. You never even mentioned it before tonight," Spike countered. "Didn't seem to bother you any when you were letting me in your knickers."
"Eww, gross much Spike?"
Spike waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. "I bet I'd find...." Spike rubbed his thumb suggestively against his forefinger.
Buffy couldn't help it, her gaze was fixated on his all too agile fingers.
"Don't even go there Spike," Buffy warned. I'm gonna burn just for the thoughts that Spike incites in me, much less for acting on them, she thought. Then she inquired, "But how can this work, when you don't have a soul?"
"The claim will make you my mate. It'll make it bloody impossible for me to hurt you. Isn't that what you want?" Spike asked.
"After... after, well you know," Buffy faltered, unable to articulate what she meant and blushing furiously. It was more than a little silly really, when she considered all the things they'd done together and she couldn't utter a single string of comprehensible words to describe an act... more like multiple acts really... many of which they'd replayed more than once. "After what we did together, I never thought you'd hurt me. But there's my friends... my family... Giles."
"I'd never hurt them, cause that'd hurt you pet," Spike replied smoothly. "And anything that causes you pain would hurt me too."
Spike stroked the back of his hand against the velvety smooth skin of Buffy's cheek, sending a shiver down her spine. He was near impossible to resist. Then again, why exactly did she want to?
Spike pulled Buffy into his arms. Buffy offered no resistance to his vice-like grip, even though she could have found a way to slip free using her Slayer-strength. She just didn't want to.
Buffy turned her face up to Spike, like a flower offering its face to the sun. He was becoming entirely too important to her, but she didn't know how to stop. Didn't want to run and hide from him. And she couldn't stake him. Not after all they'd shared.
***
Spike's lips touched hers like a bee gently gathering pollen from a rich, ripe flower. He nipped at her lips with blunt teeth, while his tongue plundered the inside of her mouth, gathering the rich reward of her hungry moan in return.
He pulled back when Buffy was gasping from lack of breath. He sucked in an unnecessary breath or two of his own in tandem with her ragged breathing.
"Will you accept the claim?" Spike asked. His ice blue eyes swirled with passion and fear. He could feel her desire, hear the way her heart sped to a gallop when he touched her. The one question that kept swimming through his brain, was it enough? No matter how many times he tried to convince himself that this thing between them was enough for her, a claim might be one step further than she was willing to go with him.
To be continued...