A/N: I want to thank everyone who voted for me at the Lovebite Awards as I won Best Long Fiction for Home Truths! And a bunch of runner ups for HT and Rekindling Old Flames. Thank you all. And to show my thanks -

"Thanks for this"

Oz glanced at Buffy as she said this. He looked essentially the same as he had last time she had seen him. Only this time he had a little stubble on his face, and the rugged look worked for him. His hair was still spiked up and auburn, his green eyes steady, the line of his mouth unmoving. He was also still her height, obviously he didn't wear lifts. Dressed in his brown sheepskin jacket and dark blue jeans he was the Oz he had always been. On the surface, anyway. He had been through a lot and that could change a person. Buffy knew this for a fact. Still, he seemed laid-back. He pretty much always was that way.

If there was an embodiment of cool as a cucumber then Oz was it. Cool as a cucumber? Buffy flinched inwardly at her lame-ass comment.

"No problem" Oz answered as they walked down the street side-by-side.

"It's just, I know you've probably got better things to do than Spike hunt with me" She explained "So, thanks"

He gave a half-shrug "Left"

They turned left into another, heavily populated, street. Buffy guessed it was just about party time in Los Angeles. People were stumbling into or out of clubs as they walked by. Someone wolf-whistled at her, which was kind of ironic considering the company she was in.

Oz sniffed the air subtly for Spike's scent as Buffy just mainly got worried for the vampire. He had stormed out of the room for no reason. Obviously he had been upset by something but she had no idea what. Problem with Spike was that he was so damned sensitive. Had been even before the soul and she used to revel in using that against him. Using it to stir him up, make him mad. Not that he hadn't done the exact same things to her.

Now, though, she was just wishing they would find him soon.

How things change over the years...

"Yeah" Oz agreed.

Buffy looked at him, surprised "Did I say that out loud?"

He gave her a small nod "Change happens a lot"

"Ain't that the truth," She sighed "What about you? Working with Willow but you're not, you know, dating her?"

Oz sniffed the air and they turned left again "Just helping out"

"It's kind of amazing. I always saw you two as the perfect couple," Buffy mused "I mean, until all the angst"

"Same could be said for you and Angel"

She looked down at the floor "Hmm. I guess I had that one coming"

Oz glanced at her "It's strange. The closer I get to Spike's scent...the more I smell you"

Buffy looked up again, eyes wide and a blush dusting her cheeks "Oh. Oh. Well, that's..."

"None of my business" He held up a hand to stop her "Things change, like you said"

She nodded "You're so non-judgmental. I knew there was a reason I liked you!"

"Thanks. I think" Oz said, with a little chuckle.

"I mean one of the reason I like you, of course" Buffy corrected herself quickly.

Oz came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the sidewalk. The Slayer stopped too. The street they were in was filled with party-goers. Some of which bumped into her and Oz as they drunkenly shuffled by. A hard glare from the Slayer sent them all hurriedly walking away. There were two rival clubs down the street both pounding different music out of their doorways as if competing for the title of nosiest club in town.

One was blaring heavy metal. The other was trance. It was quite a contrast.

"He's here somewhere. It's hard to tell with this many scents" Oz told her.

Buffy looked around then fixed back on the clubs "If he's here then he's probably in there" she pointed to the heavy-metal club.

Oz started towards it and she followed.

He sniffed hard and then after a few moments nodded "Somewhere in that building"

"Right. Okay. Thanks," Buffy turned to him "Well, I should..."

"Go" He nodded "I'll be around"

She paused, looking him in the eyes for a long moment before she nodded and then walked to the club door. There was a long queue trailing down the sidewalk. She put on her best ass swaying walk and sidled up to the beefy looking bouncer.

He looked her over in her very non rock chick outfit.

"You probably want the club across the road, hon" He drawled.

Buffy shook her head "Oh, no. I'm...mad on the Rock n' Roll scene"

"Really?" His lips smacked together as he chewed gum.

"Oh, yeah"

"What's your favorite band?"

Jeez, what is this – a test?

"Uh, well..." Buffy desperately tried to think back to one of the bands Spike was always raving about and she had never paid attention to "The...uh...Stone Pistols?"

He gave a little laugh "I'll let you in just for that"

The bouncer waved her through and she gave him a flirty smile while really wishing she could kick him in the groin. Buffy walked through the door and was instantly greeted with blaring guitar riffs and thundering drums. She winced and looked around. She was in a hallway as the actual club was down a flight of stairs. All the walls were painted black and Buffy could hardly see where she was going as she put her hands against the wall and walked tentatively down some invisible stairs. Surely it was a hazard? Wasn't there some law to say they should have a light somewhere?

She reached the floor below without tripping and breaking her neck, which was a miracle in itself. The actual club was also all painted in black although it had a few lights dotted around here and there on the wall so you could just about see the outline of things. There was a small stage with a band on it that were jumping around in a funny way and strumming the hell out of their guitars. People were on the modest-sized dance floor jumping around in a similar way to the band and shaking their heads wildly, long hair flying through the air with sweat spraying everywhere. Nice.

Buffy scanned the club but Spike was not on the dance floor, not that she had expected him to be. She pushed her way through the gyrating people. She stopped only once to shout a stern telling off to a woman who had grabbed her ass. Then she made it to the bar in one piece.

And there he was.

His back was to her but it was unmistakably him. Spike's hair glowed neon in the darkness and from the way he was sat, half-slumped over the bar, he was not in a good mood.

"Oh, joy" Buffy said to herself.

She walked up and slid onto the stool next him, propping an elbow up on the bar "Need to be alone, huh?" she half-shouted against the noise of the club.

Spike's jaw clenched and he turned slowly to look at her "What you doin' here?" he was nursing a tumbler of whiskey.

"Oh, you know – just enjoying the ambiance," Buffy leaned into him "What do you think I'm doing here? You make with the big, melodramatic exit and you expect me to just let it lie?"

"Frankly, yes" He spat, turning away from her.

She watched as he downed the whiskey and then yelled for the bartender to get him another one. Buffy watched his face from the side-on profile that she could see. His mouth was clamped shut, his eyes narrowed slightly. She looked down and saw his grip tighten on the glass in his hand. If he wasn't careful he'd break it.

"What's up with you?" She yelled above the din.

"I don't want to talk"

"Too bad, 'cos I do" Buffy replied.

Spike turned back to face her, anger etched on his features "I mean it, Buffy. Leave me alone"

"No"

He growled and turned back as the bartender filled his glass back up. He sloshed the drink around, hit the bottom of it against the bar and then tipped it into his mouth. Spike downed the whiskey in one go and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

She arched an eyebrow "Swoon. Now, what's the matter?"

"You want to know what the matter is?" He turned to her "You really want to know?"

"Well, yeah"

"You're the matter"

Buffy frowned "What?"

"You and the way you hanker after Angel"

She looked at him, disbelieving "I don't...hanker after him! God! What is wrong with you two? Why have you always got to be jealous of each other?"

Spike snorted "I saw the way you looked at him. The way you can't take your eyes of him. Not to mention the little tête-à-tête you had with him not a half hour ago"

Buffy couldn't stop herself laughing at the absurdity of it all. He was jealous about her going off with Angel when it had been the complete opposite of what he was imagining.

Spike stood abruptly, so abruptly that his bar stool clattered to the floor. His nostrils flared and his grip tightened so hard on the glass tumbler that it shattered "Don't you laugh at me! Don't you ever laugh at me!"

The Slayer was left gaping. This was more serious then she had first thought. She closed her mouth and took a deep breath to regain some sort of composure. Then she fixed her eyes on Spike's. He was seething. If looks could kill...

"I wasn't laughing at you," She said "I was...look can we go somewhere quieter to talk about this?" she indicated to the band – they were in the middle of a killer ten minute drum solo.

"I like it here" He replied through gritted teeth "If you want out, then go"

Buffy stood and moved closer to him, she could feel the tension reverberating through his body "Spike, when I went to talk to Angel I went to talk to him about you. About us"

"Oh yeah?" He sneered "Had a good little laugh about it in-between snogs did you?"

She threw her hands up "No! There was no laughing or...'snogging'!"

He almost chuckled at her using that word but restrained himself.

"...In fact there was the complete opposite of snogging. There was smacking involved" Buffy told him.

Spike arched an eyebrow "The smacking of lips?"

"No, the smacking of my hand to his face"

A slow, wicked grin crossed his face "You gave him a slap?"

"Yes," She said "But don't go getting all smug. I feel like slapping you right now. How could you think I'd get back with Angel like that? Apart from the fact that we're two different people now, he has Nina"

"Right. Sure. Like he wouldn't dump dog girl like a tray of kitty litter if you came back to him" Spike snorted.

"I doubt that but even if he would, it doesn't matter. I've got you now" Buffy reached out and took his cut up hand gently in her own "And I'm not one for dumping kitty litter everywhere"

He chuckled, placed his non-injured hand over his heart "That gets me right here"

She smiled "So, you're not gonna get into another hissy-fit then?"

"I don't do hissy-fits" Spike protested.

"Sure ya don't" Buffy beamed "Now, let's get you home so I can tend to this hand of yours. Amongst other things"

"Yes, ma'am!" Spike saluted.

Buffy began pulling him through the club before she turned back to him and said "Word to the wise – calling a girl 'ma'am' is not suitably foreplay"

Spike laughed.

A/N: Sigh. It all goes back to how it should be with talk of foreplay. How long can this last though? Review!