A/N : The real Spuffyness is coming, I swear, but you guys know me well enough by now, I like the twists and turns!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11

It was three days since Angel had arrived back in town, and he'd been glued to Buffy's side every time she came into the club. Following the success of the latest business trip he'd been on, Angel had asked for, and been granted, some time off to spend with his girl who he had neglected for too long. Buffy seemed thrilled to have him back, at least on the surface, but Angel couldn't help but feel something was different. He had a strong suspicion it was to do with a certain bleached blond who worked at The Bronze, though he didn't mention it to Buffy. She wasn't the cheating kind, she was far too sweet and innocent for that, he was sure.

Spike wasn't bothered by the nasty looks the boss' fella threw his way. He'd won fights with bigger blokes than Angel, so if things got really bad he knew he could cope. As it was he couldn't see the situation ever arising, since it seemed to him Angel was as big a poof as his nickname suggested. He certainly wasn't good enough for Buffy, and Spike had made the mistake of saying just that in front of Doyle one day when they'd been drinking a little too heavily at the apartment.

"Oh, and I s'pose you are good enough, eh Spikey boy?" the Irishman had chuckled into his Guinness.

"Bloody right I am" his friend agreed, "Not that I want the silly bint. I can pull better than her without even trying!" he said firmly, though he knew deep down it was a lie. He could have just about any girl in Sunnydale, with his looks, musical ability, and bad-boy reputation, it all came pretty easy. Still, Spike knew no girl he went with now would compare to Buffy. She'd got his attention, she annoyed him intensely like nobody else ever had, and though he'd deny it completely to anyone who asked he knew he was just a little bit in love with her.

Sometimes he was almost certain she was attracted to him too, and that Angel was just something to hide behind because she was afraid to admit what she felt for him. The dozy git was probably all safe and average to her, whilst Spike himself was dangerous and new. He was attractive to her, but she was wary of him, such was the bleached blond's theory on the subject.

"For God sakes, Spike!" Cordy yelled his name for the fourth time and finally caught his attention.

"Sorry, luv, you say something?" he checked as he finished off wiping down the bar.

"Yeah, I was wondering where Doyle was" she asked with a frown, "Shouldn't he be here by now?"

"Not today, pet" Spike told her, "Not feeling so good, bloody lousy in fact, and he doesn't look much better" he sighed, "Thought it was the booze at first but the black stuff never hits him this hard, reckon he's got one of those twenty four hour bug things, y'know?"

"Are you sure he's okay?" Cordelia asked worriedly, "I mean, did you call a doctor or something?"

"Well, no" Spike told her as if she were deficient, "It's not that big a deal, Cordelia, just a bit of shivering, throwing up, and need for sleep is all. It'll pass. He'll probably be right as rain by tomorrow night" he assured the young woman who looked so terribly panicked.

"Oh, well, yeah" she said nonchalantly as Spike stared at her, "I mean, it's not like I care or anything" she lied, "I just wanted to check we had cover for him and stuff, man down behind the bar and all" she said, trying to cover the fact that she actually cared about Doyle's welfare. It wouldn't do for anyone to think she was actually interested in someone with fashion sense that bad, though she was hardly one to judge since her step down in society.

"Course, pet" Spike smirked as he agreed with her, though they both knew the truth of the matter.

"So, I guess we should be unlocking the doors right about now" she said, changing the subject and glancing at her watch to check the time.

"I'll go give Her Ladyship a yell then" Spike rolled his eyes as he moved to go towards the Staff Only door, "Left my bleedin' keys at home" he said as he went and Cordy sighed.

"Honestly, men" she complained half-heartedly as she went to check the bar one more time before the club opened up for this evenings business.

Spike was right to the office door before he realised what was going on beyond it. He'd been going over a new song in his head, not really paying attention to anything else, right until he got to the door - then he heard the yelling.

"I explained that to you, Buffy" Angel was saying, "Miss Mackenzie made a mistake with the booking, and there were no other rooms!"

"And you just had to be the person she shared with!" Buffy shot back incredulously.

Spike rolled his eyes as he listened in to see what Tall, Dark, and Forehead would say to that. Seemed pretty obvious he'd done something he shouldn't've with this Miss Mackenzie, and Buffy had found out. It was going to take some first class lying to get out of this one, and Spike doubted very much he could manage it.

"She was the only woman on the trip, she had to share with a guy and she knows me better than the others" he said, not yelling so much now as admitting guiltily.

"She knows you better than her own father?" Buffy snapped, "If you're going to lie, Angel, at least have the decency to try harder than that!" she told him angrily and Spike could just picture her on the opposite side of her desk, arms folded across her chest, practically stamping her foot with frustration. She was a force to be reckoned with their Miss Summers was, and that Spike found was what he liked best about her.

"Baby, I'm not lying to you..." Angel tried to tell her, but Buffy was having none of it and told him she didn't want to hear another word so he might as well just get out. He protested just for a moment before sighing in defeat and saying he would go, but he'd be back later when she'd calmed down. Spike had the decency to duck around the corner and pretend to be arriving at the door just as Angel exited.

"Alright, mate?" he asked cheerfully, but got no answer as Buffy's fiancé shoved past him and strode away angrily.

Spike was smirking as he stepped into the office, he just couldn't help himself.

"Lovers tiff, was it?" he asked with an annoying amount of glee, that did nothing to improve Buffy's bad mood.

"My love life is none of your business!" she snapped, but Spike wasn't at all bothered.

"Could've been a couple of days ago" he pointed out, "least you seemed pretty keen"

"Like I would ever have seriously wanted to be near you" she scoffed, "It was a joke"

Spike knew that was a lie. Maybe it had started out as a way to annoy him but the look in her eyes, the things she'd said to him, they were real, the same as the look of utter devastation on her face when she'd seen him disappear with that Harmony bird the other day. She moved to walk past him but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him, so sick of all these games she was fond of playing.

"A joke then, was it, luv?" he said in a low voice that made her shiver, although that might of been how close they were right now, "Well, I don't see anyone laughing" he pointed out.

She was about to say something back, though she wasn't sure what it was when she opened her mouth and he never gave her a chance for words anyway as he put his lips to hers and kissed her hungrily. As stupid as she knew she was for doing it, Buffy immediately responded. She wanted this, she wanted Spike, it was crazy and insane but it was true. What had started out as a game was more than that now, and though she didn't know how it had happened she knew things had changed.

Angel's return should've been something to celebrate but she found she was barely happy to see him, especially when she knew it was likely he'd been doing more than just working with Darla whilst he'd been away. The other blonde woman had called her today, said just enough to convince Buffy her fiancé had been unfaithful to her. It was the last reason she needed to convince her she had no need to push Spike away as he kissed her with a passion that Angel never had. Nothing ever felt this good, this intense, as her arms wound round his neck and his hands moved over her body, one settling at her waist the other tangling in her hair.

There was no way to know what might've happened between them, had Cordelia not wondered where they'd got to and come looking. They were already ten minutes late opening up and a rowdy chorus of 'Why Are We Waiting' had begun outside the main doors. Unfortunately with the office door left ajar by Spike on his entrance to the room, Cordy could see inside before she even knocked. Her gasp caught the attention of her friends more so than the knock on the door and Buffy sprang away from Spike as if she'd been scalded, wiping the back of her hand across her lips.

"Er, okay" Cordelia said a little awkwardly, "First of all, woah, when the hell did this happen!" she wanted to know, "And second, yes I know that's actually none of my business, but hey it was worth a shot, and does one of you wanna open the doors any time soon cos it's like restless customers galore out there?" she asked, looking between a very flushed Buffy and a slightly smug looking Spike.

"Sure thing, luv" he said with a smirk, "I was just asking Buffy here for the keys"

"Oh, that's what you were doing?" Cordelia smirked right back, finding the whole thing just a little amusing. These two had been dancing around each other and their feelings for too long in her opinion, it was about time they got it on.

"Keys, right" Buffy said, quickly finding them and handing them over, both loving and hating the way her skin tingled when her fingers brushed Spike's own.

"Right then, lets get this show on the road" he said, walking out of the door. Though Cordelia followed she glanced back at her old friend first. She didn't just look like she'd had the best kiss of her life, she also looked a little stunned, maybe angry.

"What are you doing?" Cordy asked Spike as he set about unlocking the doors.

"Well, pet, I'd say that was a little obvious" he said, eyebrow raised as he put the key in the lock.

"No, not with the door, you idiot" she said, slapping him lightly across the top of the arm, "With Buffy. I know there's something up with you two, but she didn't look very happy when we left that office"

"Silly bint probably thought that kiss you saw meant something" he shrugged as he fought with the key that didn't like the lock it' been put into, refusing to co-operate.

"And it didn't?" Cordy checked, as Buffy stood in her office, frozen to the spot. The security camera trained on the front door was currently on the monitor and she turned up the volume to better hear what was being said.

"Yeah, right" Spike chuckled, "Like I'd feel anything for a bitch like her" he scoffed, making Buffy feel very sick and very angry. He was still playing games with her, and she hated him for that, but moreover she hated herself for actually wanting him like she knew she did now. Whether it was just physical attraction or if it ran deeper she wasn't certain, and she didn't plan to find out. There were better men in the world than Spike Blackstone, and there was no way he was going to have any power over her.

Spike was glad Doyle wasn't working tonight. If he had have been there would have been just one topic of conversation behind the bar - Buffy Summers. As it was Spike couldn't get the boss lady out of his head, and talking about her could only make matters worse.

What had happened between them, though he'd started it, he hadn't expected to enjoy himself quite so much, to feel the things he felt. If he thought about it too much he lost the ability to pour drinks correctly so he tried not to dwell on it. Cordy kept shooting him glances though. Little smiles that he was fairly certain meant she hadn't believed a word of it when he'd said Buffy meant nothing. He'd lied, and they both knew it.

Spike's problem was he didn't want to like Miss Summers, and he certainly didn't fancy falling in love with her, but already he knew he was well on the way to that. God, he despised Doyle for being right, and Xander, and Faith... seemed every bugger knew how he felt before he did! Now it was clear though. When Buffy was with Angel he felt sick and when he kissed her today it was a whole new kind of bliss. All he had to do now was tell her about it, though Spike wondered if he could.

If he went to her and confessed what he was feeling he was fairly certain one of two things would happen. Either she'd laugh in his face and humiliate him, or she'd crow over the fact she'd been right all along, knowing he wanted her. He couldn't take her refusal of him, or her self-satisfied smile when she was proven right.

He was just going over his options for about the hundredth time that night when he spotted Buffy's gorilla of a boyfriend chatting with Gunn, head of security. With a smile and friendly slap on the back, Angel was allowed free access to the Staff Only area and Spike hated knowing that ponce was probably going to go and make his peace with Buffy.

"You can hold for the fort for a sec, can't you, luv?" he checked with Cordy, who nodded and agreed she could. She'd seen Angel too and knew where Spike was headed and why. She was interested to see how this one played out, and she really could cope for a while without the bleached blond so she let him go.

Spike was half way to the office door, feeling like he was having distinct deja vu as he heard yelling beyond it. It had been left slightly open, more by mistake than by design he assumed as Buffy told Angel she wasn't sure she could trust him anymore.

"Come on, Buffy, you know I love you" he said, "We had big plans for the future, marriage and kids. Why does that have to change?" he asked as Spike opened the door a little more unnoticed by the pair with the their arms around each other.

"I don't know..." Buffy sighed, "I..." she stopped when she finally noticed Spike in the doorway and her eyes hardened, "What did I tell you about knocking and entering?" she snapped.

"Don't tempt me to answer that one, luv" he smirked, several suggestive and dirty comments running through his head that she could practically hear as she looked at him.

"I don't think this is your office" Angel told the bleached blond, "So why don't you get the hell out?"

"Didn't think it as your office either, mate" Spike bit back and Buffy told them to stop it now.

"Spike, Angel can go anywhere he wants in this club" she told him firmly, "Whether you like it or not, and I don't see you have any reason not to, he is my fiancé"

"Does that mean...?" Angel looked at her again with hope in his eyes, his question left half asked as she smiled.

"Yes" she told him, "We're good. I was being stupid, I know that" she sighed, "I'm sorry, Angel, I shouldn't let my wacky imagination run away with me"

Angel hugged her then, but she didn't look at all thrilled as her eyes met Spike's over her boyfriends shoulder. They both knew she'd only got back with Angel to infuriate Spike, and they both knew it had worked too.

To Be Continued...