Buffy giggled as Spike slid the loofah down her back, tickling her spine in the most wonderful way. They had managed to crawl out of bed a little before noon after another round of lovemaking. The power had come back on sometime before sun-up and the house was like a meat locker from when Spike had lowered the thermostat the night before.
"Nothing like a hot shower to take off the chill, Pet." Spike grinned as he slid the loofah around to her belly.
"Mmm-hmm," she agreed. "Definately heats things up."
The two were so rapt in each other that they didn't hear the deadbolt turn. They didn't hear Max yip excitedly as Cordelia and Harmony entered the house. They didn't hear the snide remarks being exchanged over the presence of a pair of breakfast dishes still on the table with the remains of egg and toast still sitting on them.
"Good grief! He's probably got that psycho slut, Drusilla here. Remember her? That whacko that was in his band?" Cordy asked Harmony with a roll of her eyes.
"I thought she was that Ox guy's girlfriend," Harmony said with a furrowed brow as she walked into Cordy's room. The clothes on the bed looked like Buffy's. But she'd gone home Saturday morning, hadn't she?
"Oz. And no. Spike said she was 'shagging' anything with a penis," Cordy called from the living room. "He probably has one of those."
Harmony walked back into the living room with a puzzled look on her face.
"Cord," she began tentatively. "Didn't Buffy say she was going home yesterday morning?"
"Yeah," Cordy told her, spying the bottle of brandy on the coffee table. She picked it up and walked it back over the the wet bar. "I kind of feel bad for subjecting her to Spike and then blowing her off when we were supposed to go to the beach yesterday."
"You do?" Harmony asked, surprised.
Cordy was thoughtful for a moment.
"No," she admitted with a shrug and a smirk. "Not so much. But I feel better now that I've said that I did."
Spike reached down to turn off the water and stepped out of the shower to retrieve a towel. He wrapped it around his waist, still dripping wet, grabbed another and set to rubbing Buffy's heated skin.
"God, I'm such a slut," she giggled.
He continued rubbing at her skin and hair.
"Why would you say that, Kitten?" he asked, a little confused.
"Because all I can think about is crawling back into bed with you," she grinned.
He wrapped the towel around her and pulled her to him. He kissed her tenderly and then lifted her up, making her laugh even louder.
"I supposed that can be arranged," he told her with a wicked leer that thrilled her.
They were still giggling as he walked out into the hall with her in his arms.
"Holy. Shit."
He just about dropped the girl in his arms to the floor at the sound of his step-sister's shocked voice.
"Buffy?" Harmony shrieked incredulously.
"Oh my God," Buffy whispered, burying her head in the crook of Spike's neck.
"Just what the Hell is going on here?" Cordy demanded to know. "And before I forget... EUW!" she yelled.
Spike set Buffy back down and told her to go get dressed. She obediently padded down the hall and into Cordy's bedroom, trying her best to avoid the heated glare being sent her way by the none-too-pleased brunette.
"I'm going to get dressed," he told her. "And then you, me and Buffy are going to sit down and suss this out."
Cordy opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Spike again.
"It'll keep 'til we're dressed, Cor."
He went into his room and shut the door behind hm.
Buffy threw on her clothes and then began stuffing her things back into her overnight bag. She was so embarrassed. It wasn't her relationship with Spike that she was flustered about, but getting caught coming out of the shower with him, well, that was a little embarrassing. She shuddered at the thought of having to face the Vapid Inquisition.
She walked back into the living room to find Spike already sitting on the couch waiting for her. Cordy was sitting on the other end of the sectional with her arms crossed in front of her chest, clearly closed off to hearing any logical explanation as to what her step-brother and her somewhat friend were doing coming out of the bathroom clothed only in towels. Harmony was sitting beside her trying to look interested in her cuticles.
"I don't even think I want to know what's going on," Cordelia told them, thoroughly disgusted.
Buffy scooted close to Spike and tried to relax as he draped his arm protectively around her shoulders. This was so not going to be fun.
"How long has this been going on?" she wanted to know.
"It, uh... just kind of happened last night," Buffy stammered.
"Uh-huh." Cordy's eyebrow shot up indicating that they would have to do a little better than that.
"I've cared about Buffy for quite some time now, Cordelia," he told her. He felt Buffy's hand move to his thigh and give it an encouraging squeeze. "If anything, Pet, we've you to thank for getting us together."
"Me?" she shrieked. "Me? Don't go blaming me for this little mess!"
"I don't know, Cord. They are kind of cute together," Harmony said, absently picking at the frayed edge of her shorts.
"Euw! Knock it off already," Cordy scowled. "I'd like to hear just how the Hell you think I'm responsible for this freakin' nightmare."
"You invite Buffy over every weekend and then you and Harmony take off with your boyfriends," Spike explained to her. "She intercepts your calls, she takes care of Max and then you blow her off for something better. Then I get home to find her studying on the couch or watching TV by herself. We started talking. We have a lot in common. We enjoy each other's company. Isn't that why you're with Peaches?"
"Not particularly." Cordy was still making her 'euw' faces. "He has a nice car, he's captain of the football team, his dad owns VisionCorp Sunnydale and, fortunately for him, he has a pretty big di--"
"Dictionary!" Harmony interjected when she saw Buffy's face go pink. "He has a pretty big dictionary and we go over there because he, uh, he tutors us. We're terrible with vocabulary."
As true as the need for a tutor was, Spike and Buffy both knew that wasn't the reason that Cordy and Harmony went over to Angel's house.
"Hello? I was talking," Cordy said, casting a hateful glare at her blonde counterpart.
"Was just trying to help, Cord. You know... hard to make with the 'euw, this is so wrong and gross' if you're the pot."
"Huh?"
Sometimes Cordelia was certain that Harmony was even more stupid than she appeared.
"As in Pot," she said, turning to Cordy. "Meet Mr. and Mrs. Kettle," she finished, turning toward Spike and Buffy.
"Whatever," Cordy said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I just don't even know what to say."
"Then say nothing for a change," Buffy managed to grind out. "I love Will. I've loved him since I was 12 years old. And Will loves me. You have Angel and you have your friends and I've been aware for quite some time now that I'm really not one of them anymore."
"I'm hurt that you would say that, Buffy," Cordy pouted.
"No, you're not. You're insensitive. And shallow," Buffy told her. "To hurt would imply that you actually cared. And we both know that the only person that Cordelia Chase cares about is Cordelia Chase."
Cordelia tried to milk the hurt act a little more. She turned to Harmony and asked her if she'd call her shallow.
"No," Harmony said defensively. "Not to your face."
This earned her a few grins and giggles from the blonde duo sitting across from her. What the Hell? They were cute. Spike wasn't as 'euw' as Cordy made him out to be. He had great hair. And a pretty decent bod. And the accent was totally yummy. Harmony would be a liar if she said that she'd never thought of him as date-able herself.
"You're just all 'euw' because he's your step-brother, Cordy," Harmony said in Spike's defense. "I mean, take away the fact that he was a total dork with his shaggy, brown hair and his geeky glasses when you first met him. And the freakin' tweedy clothes his dad dressed him in. It's not like that was totally his fault. And the way he used to stutter all the time. And--"
"You're not doing me any favors here, love," Spike smirked.
"I'm just saying, you know... take away the William we met five years ago, and Spike's kind of hot in a totally 'Billy Idol used to be cool' kind of way," Harmony continued.
Harmony didn't know what had gotten into her, but something in her suddenly felt protective of Spike and Buffy. She supposed it could have been the way Cordy expected her to follow after her like a puppy dog. Or maybe it was the fact that she realized that she really liked Gunn even though Cordy wanted to fix her up with Angel's cousin, Connor.
She had told Cordy over and over that she had no interest in hanging out with Connor, yet Cordy told Angel to set it up anyhow. And he did. It was beyond uncomfortable sitting there with Gunn while Cordy and Angel pointed out Connor's finer points as if Harmony could not make her own decisions when it came to the guys she dated. She had plenty of experience in the boyfriend department. She'd gone through one a week before she met Gunn.
"You're supposed to be on my side!" Cordy yelled.
"Like you were on my side when you tried to push Connor on me right in front of my Brown-Sugar-Bear?" Harmony retaliated.
"I was trying to help you! Gunn's popularity is totally on the decline since he lost that football scholarship to UCLA. He's just another UC Sunnydale loser now!" Cordy spat.
"Well, I guess that makes me another UC Sunnydale loser, too," Harmony told her in a defeated voice. "I mean, if I can even get in at all after screwing off with you all year." She turned to Spike and Buffy, angling for sympathy. "My grades totally suck. I'm barely graduating and my parents have threatened to cut me off if I don't get into some college. They'd even be happy with community college at this point," she admitted sadly.
"Oh, and now the fact that you're a moron is my fault, too?" Cordy asked, her eyes narrowed onto her friend's, daring her to agree.
"I didn't say that, Cordelia. All I'm saying is that maybe I should have been using Buffy for tutoring instead of phone screener all these weekends," she said. She shot an apologetic glance at Buffy. "I mean, I should have not been using you at all, but... I'm way so bad at this. Please tell me you know what I mean."
Buffy looked up at the smirk on Spike's face and shook her head.
"I know what you mean, Harmony," she told the cheerleader.
What the Hell. Harmony had come to their defense in her own twisted way. She was just as much a victim of Cordelia's tyranny as anyone else, Buffy supposed.
"Are we done here?" Spike suddenly asked. "Because I'd like to take my girl to drop off her things before we head on over to band practice."
"Ugh!" Cordy growled, disgusted. "Whatever! Just don't go doing anything naked when I'm around. Or kissing. Don't do that in front of me either. Or any other perverted touching of any kind. And is there any room in this house I don't need to fumigate..."
Cordy was still prattling on as Spike leaned down to press a long kiss to Buffy's smiling lips.
"Euw! Do you two not listen at all?" she shouted. "I said to stop making with the kissage! Gross! And stop it! STOP it!"
Buffy and Spike ignored her loud protests and continued nuzzling and nipping at each other.
"Oh, God. I just... I give up!"
Cordy stormed into her bedroom, threw Buffy's bag into the living room and slammed the door behind her. Harmony giggled as she watched the blonde pair whisper endearments to each other.
"Can I catch a ride home with you guys?" she asked, interrupting them. She only lived a block over from Buffy.
"Yeah, but I call shotgun," Buffy grinned.