Chapter 22:
Saffron heard Buffy talking in a low voice on the phone. She had come into the main part of the house for a change of scene, the walls she had been staring at had started to move because she had been staring too long. She still had a lot on her mind and although things were better than they had been, Saffron had dealt with grief before, the recent events had brought everything back to her. She stood in the doorframe and watched as Buffy spoke in a hushed tone to whoever was on the other end. She had been so distracted with her own guilt she hadn't noticed that Buffy was hiding something, but she could feel that now. Buffy put the phone down and ran her hand through her hair. Saffron frowned and walked into the kitchen.
"Buff? What's going on?"
"It's Dawn" Buffy said, after a long hesitation. She knew whatever she had come up with Saffron would know she was lying, and she needed to talk to someone else about it. Buffy explained everything. The spell and Dawn. The monk and the key. Saffron just stared, open mouthed as Buffy kept talking. It was a lot to take in, especially for someone that had barely spoken to anyone for weeks.
"No. No, she's- she's my little cousin" Saffron shook her head, unable to comprehend what Buffy was telling her. The moon. A whisper made her go cold. The illusion, it's Dawn. Buffy was being honest and Saff didn't know what to do. She had so many memories with Dawn, how could she have only just arrived? How could she have missed that?
"But, Buff. I took her for ice creams after school on hot days and-and do you remember when she'd beg us to take her to the park? She said it wasn't fun without us there, but we knew she needed us to intimidate the bigger kids for her"
"I know. But none of that was real, Saff. The memories were faked" Buffy said, she was reflecting on her own memories of Dawn and she put her arm around her taller cousin.
"It's not fake. I feel it" Saffron put her hand to her chest. She looked at Buffy and saw that she was at just as much of a loss as she was.
"I do too" Buffy replied, her eyes were brimming with tears as well. The girls hugged for a while, knowing they were the only ones that had this connection. It had only been Buffy and Saffron, but neither of them could stop thinking about Dawn. A tear tried to slip from Saffron's eye, but she was determined to steel herself. She wanted to be strong for Dawn, and Buffy. Buffy seemed to be taking this hard and she decided in that moment she needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and help Buffy figure out what's going on. Buffy was grateful she had Saff, she couldn't handle it if she was left with the fake memories of a sister and nobody else. Apparently, Dawn wasn't aware she wasn't real. Which made sense as Saffron couldn't feel deception in the house when she was around. The girls stayed up most of the night talking and deciding what the best thing to do was. All they knew for sure is they had to protect Dawn at all costs.
xoxoxo
Saffron had arrived at Buffy's dorm room earlier than everyone else. She had asked her how everything was and they talked in a low whisper about Dawn and how they were both feeling. Saff was worried about Buffy moving back into Revello Drive as well, she wanted Buffy to be sure and she had insisted that she was. She knew she wanted to be there for Joyce and protect Dawn. She was pleased that Buffy was coming back home, she couldn't protect Dawn as well as her cousin could. Buffy had filled her in on fighting and losing to Glory, Saffron had been too distracted by her own thoughts after Hayley to pay attention to, well, anything. She thought they were normal, run-of-the-mill slaying scars, not big bad that's super strong slaying scars. Saffron started to fold up towels and pack them up along with Buffy's clothes in the corner of the room as the others started to arrive.
"Some of your CDs are my CDs" Dawn complained to Buffy as she started to pack them up.
"Man, I wish she had nicked some of mine. She needs to develop a bit of refinement and taste" Saffron smiled at Dawn and acted as if she was sophisticated. It made Dawn giggle and Saff smiled back, she had always enjoyed making Dawn laugh. Well, she thought she had.
"Yeah because shouting into a microphone definitely screams refinement" Buffy quipped. Saff just rolled her eyes and went back to her folding. Xander and Riley had started to wrestle in the middle of the floor and Saff chose to just ignore them. They started to discuss Glory then, and Saffron tried her best to join in the conversation, although the others insisted she didn't have to if she wasn't ready. Tara said something that everyone stared blankly at, including Saffron. She hadn't heard it, but Tara went red and Saff could feel that she was embarrassed that nobody really got her. Tara rushed to start filling the car, leaving the rest of the Scoobies looking around awkwardly. She had tried to talk to Tara when she walked away from the group, but she wanted to stay close to Buffy and Dawn. She was in deep thought while she started to grab some more boxes to fill.
Willow had returned and reminded everyone that it was Tara's birthday and they had all agreed to meet at the Bronze to celebrate. Saffron hadn't forgotten and she was really pleased with what she had bought her. The others, however, looked visibly panicked and she could feel they were embarrassed. They forgot, Saff decided. She rolled her eyes and told Willow that she was excited, and she had already sorted her outift. Willow's eyes lit up, she obviously hadn't been completely convinced by the others either. Saffron looked at Xander and Buffy pointedly, and threw a bit of guilt at them. She was getting good at controlling the emotions and she had been slowly learning to influence others in ways that weren't just calming. The other two looked at her quickly and she raised her eyebrows, implying they knew why she was sending them the guilt. Buffy crossed her arms and tapped her boot and Saffron felt the guilt double, knowing that Buffy had enough to worry about. She quickly took the guilt away but gave them a look as if to tell them to sort themselves out. Xander walked over and slung his arm around her neck.
"S.P, I'm feeling the guilt with just the look in your eye. Kudos for the empath parade though" Xander whispered.
"Sorry, Xand. Just wanted you guys to know you need to make her feel more included. But the empath parade is out the door and down the block, babe, don't worry"
"It's just- she's a bit-" Xander tripped over his words
"A bit what?" Saffron cut in, wanting him to spit it out. She was wondering if it was a homophobic thing or not.
"I don't really get her, you know?" He explained and Saff nodded. Most people struggle to figure others out. They don't have a handy insight into their true emotions. Lucky them. Poor Tara hadn't been part of the original Scooby gang and the only reason she had gotten so close with her was because they had a fair bit in common, what with the Tarot reading and the fact they both had abilities that neither of them completely understood.
"Many people don't get An, but we'd all be there if she had her 2000th birthday party" Saffron pointed out calmly, starting to fold sheets up for Buffy and place them neatly in the boxes.
"Yeah, Anya is like totally annoying. But I like cake and dancing" Dawn shared in a loud whisper, Xander and Saff looked towards her, realising she had been eavesdropping the whole time.
"Sure, sure. So, you got any hints for presents?" Xander directed the question at Saff more than Dawn.
"Well, I've got her-" Saffron was interrupted as Anya walked back in and saw how Xander was stood, still with his arm around Saff. It was something he'd always done and neither of them had thought anything of it. Xander pulled his hand away and stood straight and looked guilty when he noticed what Anya's look meant. Anya was jealous and glared at Saff, which bought her an eye roll from the girl. The jealousy was like pins poking her in the side and it wasn't even for a good reason. Not every friendly interaction between a guy and a girl had an ulterior motive. "An, you know there's nothing between us" Saffron reminded her loudly enough for the rest of the room to quiet and stare at the three of them.
"Well, you are lonely and depressed especially since you killed your demon friend. You drove your military man away and Xander is nice to look at" Anya stated plainly, explaining the way she was looking at the pair. Everyone in the room winced when Anya mentioned Hayley and Graham. Dawn gasped and frowned at Anya, she already wasn't a fan of her because she didn't think she was good enough for Xander. The rest of the room all waited in silence to see how Saffron reacted. This could get ugly. Saffron took a deep breath, smiled and turned to look Anya in the eyes and the rest of the room braced themselves.
"Anya, I have always appreciated your candour. Depression is not a word that needs to be thrown about as if it should be taken lightly and I know I haven't really been myself since I staked Hayley" She looked around into everyone's eyes as she enunciated Hayley's name slowly, as if to prove she was okay with it, "Me and Xand have been close since high school. He's like a big brother. Xander has never been on my radar-" She was interrupted by Xander complaining and she silenced him with a glare. Anya stared for a while, seemingly processing everything she said. She nodded her head a few times after frowning, but still pulled Xander to stand next to her. Dawn came over to comfort her cousin, but she was met with Saff's usual stubborn manner. She didn't want comfort now.
"Don't listen to that fucking bitch" Dawn whispered to offer her some support. Saffron kept folding up sheets as she heard dawn. She was shocked at how she spoke, but she didn't let it show. At first, she didn't say anything, but she thought for a second and decided to tell her something.
"Can you drive a boat?" Saff asked seriously, as if she wanted to know if Dawn had ever sailed.
"Huh?" Dawn scrunched up her face and looked at her taller cousin.
"If you can't steer a ship, you can't swear. Swearing's for sailors. That's the rules" She stated, with a small smile. Dawn crossed her arms but knew Saff was only joking, reminding her not to cuss, "Plus, give Anya a break. You'll understand when you're older, jealousy sometimes only makes sense when you're in the relationship" Saffron explained. She knew Anya was being over the top but she also knew if Spike had his arms hanging around someone else she'd want him to be holding her instead.
Saffron decided to have a cigarette break. She was trying to do it in secret, as far as everyone else was concerned she had quit for good. But ever since she had started to leave the house again, and especially since she had heard about Dawn, she had started to depend on them again. She watched the sky darken as she inhaled slowly. Giles and Xander had taken another load of Buffy's stuff in the car to Revello Drive and the girls and Riley were still packing and cleaning out the room. She was thinking about Tara, the others didn't seem to get on with her as well as she did. It was as if her and Tara had clicked, she already felt like a close friend she had always had. Although she did wonder, what was that feeling they got when they were in contact with each other? Was Tara hiding something?
"Tsk, tsk. That'll give you a small case of death" Spike stated from behind her, she hadn't noticed him and she jumped and started to cough as he took the cigarette from her hand and inhaled deeply. She eventually managed to stop choking on the smoke and smiled, her eyes still watering.
"Shit, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that" She croaked, clutching her chest in an exaggerated shock now she had recovered.
"Vampire. It's what we do" He shrugged and smirked slightly. He had enjoyed making her jump. She rolled her eyes before she answered.
"Well you shouldn't be shocked that I'm smoking then, isn't that a sign I'm on the dark side too?" She said in a mock creepy voice, holding her hands up and wiggling her fingers as if she was a cartoon witch.
"Load of bollocks, no matter what Harm thinks, smoking doesn't mean you're bad" He said casually, inhaling from the cigarette.
"Well, you're the expert" Saff smiled at him and winked as he passed the cigarette back to her, which made his mouth curve into a small smile. He made sure that their fingers touched slightly as he passed the cigarette back and she shivered slightly at the contact. He had missed her being like this, she had been so miserable since the night she dusted that nice girl she used to room with. He had wanted to help Saff, but she had barely left the house and when she had, she hadn't really been there with him. He had kept watch of the house and tried to catch a glimpse of her, but it was as if she was hibernating. He had been so worried, but it made seeing her like this again even sweeter. He never wanted to see her the way he saw her that night when he found her cold and emotionless on the floor of the alley. She had told him since that she was grateful it had been him that had found her. He had been appreciating the affection she had been giving him since she had been leaving the house again. He watched her as she inhaled her cigarette and looked out into the night. Her brunette hair seemed silkier in the moonlight and her grey eyes glistened as if they were the stars that weren't quite visible yet in the sky. Her bright pink nails were long and he watched as she put the cigarette between her two fingers to her lips again.
The campus was still busy despite the dark and she wondered what everyone was thinking, she had always found it amazing that so many things could be going on in each mind that ever walked past. She wished she could hear the thoughts that went with the emotions sometimes, although usually she could guess. He wondered what she was thinking about as she stared wide-eyed around at the still busy campus. He only had eyes for her though, the way that she could see good in even the worst thing and how deeply she thought of everything. He wanted to tell her everything he thought about her, but he would leave that for his poetry. She looked back at him then, smiling widely. She leaned in and kissed his cheek, whispering that she was pleased that he had come to see her. She passed him the end of her cigarette and explained that she had better go back in and help finish up. Spike's face dropped slightly for the first time since he had been in her presence, but she promised to visit his crypt as soon as she could. He nodded and finished the end of the cigarette as he watched her run back into the building to help Buffy.
xoxoxo
Three is a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
The song had been stuck in her head all week; it was on a loop. It all came back to that number and she couldn't shake the importance of it. Saffron was shuffling her Tarot cards and looking at the set-up of her table that Giles had set up for her to take readings. She had never been more pleased. She had found a pretty purple cloth with constellations on it and she had some nice candles on there too. She had also added some netting behind the curtain that Giles had given her for privacy for the individual readings. Giles had warned her not to light the candles she had found because he couldn't risk the shop burning down and she insisted they were just for show. Her little crystal ball was on a new intricate stand that she borrowed from one of the shelves in the store, the new shipment had just come in and she had been taking merchandise from around the room to add to her corner. Giles and Anya were behind the counter and Buffy and Xander had been discussing presents for Tara. Saffron had decided to stay in her corner and let them figure it out between them.
Somewhere in that ancient mystic trinity
You'll get three
As a magic number
A man walked in, he didn't seem like a regular customer and he was looking around the room with a mixture of disgust and amusement. He stared at Saffron for a while, looking at her up and down and lingering on her chest. She had worn a slightly more low-cut top today as she was trying to figure out the best outfit to wear for reading the cards in the store as she wanted to seem more credible to the customers. Today she had chosen a black, long sleeved dress with a low, V neckline. The dress was short, and she had found some black tights that had tiny moons and stars on them and, of course, her black combat boots. The man stared for too long and it made her uncomfortable, which made her annoyed. She glared at the man and pulled her leather jacket on and zipped it up, making sure to give him a nice look at her middle finger instead. He laughed and shook his head, turning to go down the steps to where the others were. She watched the interaction he was having with them from where she was sat, her cards still in her hand. Tara and Willow walked in holding hands and talking animatedly and Saff smiled at them as they walked towards the group that were stood near the counter. Tara stopped and dropped Willows hand just as Saffron could feel chills of fear pinching and gnawing at her spine. It made her wince and grab onto the table with her spare hand and clutch her deck with the other. She's scared of her brother, Saffron figured out after being introduced to the man that had just been staring at her.
The past and the present and the future
Faith, and hope, and charity
She watched the way Tara interacted with her brother and picked up on the fact that Tara asked how he had found her. Saffron struggled to her feet to stand nearer to the group so she could get a clearer idea of what was going on. Saffron remembered reading Tara's cards on one of their first meetings, it had spoken of abandonment. The bell to the shop went off again and the rest of Tara's family filed in. When Tara saw them a wave of fresh fear and worry knocked saffron in the stomach. It was making her feel nauseous and Giles, who had moved to stand beside her, grabbed her arm to steady her. He looked concerned, both for Saff and Tara as he watched the interaction. They eventually left and Saffron managed to relax as Giles led her to a chair. Donny, Tara's brother, shouted that it was nice to see them all and Saff could tell he was being rude, but bit her tongue to stop herself from shouting something back. He was Tara's brother after all and she didn't want to piss Tara off.
Saff tried to catch Tara's eye whilst they were all doing research in the magic box. Tara was avoiding her look which made Saffron worry more. The room was quiet, apart from Anya singing a song she had made up about how much she enjoyed making money. Tara got up to grab some more volumes from the back of the shop and Saff followed her quickly
"Hey, T. So, your brother?"
"Yeah, he's- you know"
"You, uh, seemed scared of him" Saffron said quietly, not mentioning she felt the fear herself, "Is, uh, is there something you wanna talk about? I trust you, T"
"No, he's just got one of those personalities. Don't worry about it, they're doing something nice for my birthday"
"T, we both know that you're not happy to see them" Saffron replied bluntly, realising her hinting wasn't working.
"Just leave it, Saff" Tara snapped, not looking back up at saffron. She started to stack the books she had selected as Willow walked over, wondering what they were whispering about. Saffron was lost for words at the way Tara had reacted, and that didn't happen often.
"Hey Saffy, can I borrow my girlfriend back a minute? You're going after everyone's partners this week" Willow joked goofily.
"You know me, Will. Just call me Aphrodite" Saffron attempted to joke back and Will smiled as Tara looked at the red head and ignored Saffron. It wasn't her best stab at humour, but she knew Will would tell something was up if she didn't try.
"Oh! The-the goddess of love! That was a good reference, Saff! Go you!" Willow enthusiastically replied as she linked arms with Tara and they both went and sat back in their seats. Saffron stuck both her thumbs up, slightly offended that Willow didn't think she was capable of making reference to a very well-known goddess but wasn't in the mood for replying verbally. What Tara had said had really got to her.
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three,
As a magic number
xoxoxo
The crypt was cold and slightly damp, although today it smelled strongly of lavender. Saffron had brought some incense burners to try and cover the musty smell that wouldn't seem to go no matter how much she had tried. The burners seemed to do the trick though and she found herself humming a tune, something she hadn't remembered doing in a while. Spike looked over from his spot where he was laying on the couch leisurely, as if someone was painting his portrait. He watched the back of her head as she continued to hum the little song, he wasn't sure if he knew it but it made him feel happy to hear her hum it. His hair was left in its natural state, with a slight curl to it and it was as bleach blonde as ever. His tight-fitting black shirt hung perfectly on his athletic torso and he had taken off his shirt when he could see that Saffron was cold. She hadn't put it on yet though, telling him she'd sort the drinks out before she got comfortable. Spike had cursed himself, shouldn't be asking her to put more sodding clothing on, he reprimanded himself as he wanted her with little on when they were together. She was wearing acid wash jeans that had been patched up from wear and a black, low side tank top that had Nirvana emblazoned on it. Spike had scoffed when he had seen it, but she simply rolled her eyes and walked past him. She liked lots of music and she often told Spike not to be so stuck in the past with his music tastes, although she completely understood his love of punk.
Saffron was bending down to root in the mini fridge that Spike had installed for his blood and alcohol. She was grabbing blood for Spike and a drink for herself. At the start, Saffron had struggled to give him the blood he needed because she knew it had once been an animal. But when she thought about it, he physically needed it to survive and so she became more used to it. Plus, she wanted to make sure she got the right drink. Whilst she was humming, she was thinking about what had happened earlier. Saffron was worried about Tara, she had so obviously been deceptive and plain rude, which wasn't like Tara. She needed to talk to her again, she could tell that her family coming back didn't have good intentions and she knew she needed to do something to help her friend. She was still thinking when Spike came up behind her from where she was trying to get the lid off the top of her drink. Spike snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her neck slowly from behind. She chuckled softly and turned, her bottle still in hand, to face him. He softly weaved his hands between the strands of her hair, he loved that she kept it down more often when they were alone. He guided her head with his hand firmly to move closer to him and she quickly responded by leaning up to land a kiss on his lips. Spike continued to kiss her as she held the bottles in her hands. She sighed contently as he continued to kiss her slowly, as if he was trying to cherish every inch of her skin. Saffron was getting into the kiss and tried to pull his lips towards hers, but he continued to kiss her slowly on her jaw and neck. Her breathing started to quicken, and Spike smirked into the kiss he landed on her lips after he felt how much she wanted him. Spike was about to lead her to the couch, but the pair were interrupted by a sharp thud and the door to the crypt being flung open, almost breaking off its hinges.
"Will we ever get a fucking shag without an unwelcome visitor?" Spike groaned as he stared at whoever was at the door.
"Spikey! And Saffy too! Thanks, so much you guys, I've actually been missing you both since I decided to go on the lam in a different crypt" Harmony's sweet talking was met by an icy glare from Saffron. Spike put his arm around Saffron's waist. He wanted to show her he had her back if she wanted anything doing to Harmony.
"Is there a reason you've disgraced us with your presence?" Saffron said through gritted teeth, she could barely look at Harmony's face without wanting to rip it off. She was the one that killed Hayley.
"Moody" Harmony dragged out the y with sass at Saffron's words.
"Bloody twat" Saffron bit back. Spike's eyes widened as he could feel a warm heat of anger rising from her. He'd never felt anything like it and wondered if this was how Saffron felt things from other people all the time. He tried to keep his hand on her waist but it was as if he was holding a white hot iron so he had to let go. Spike kept close to her side though, he could just about manage that.
"Hey! I'm not whatever English fake-word that is"
"English is the fucking language you're speaking, you got it from where I'm from you dumb fucking-"
"What bit your ass today? Was it spike? I used to love it when-"
"What are you doing here, Harm?" Spike interrupted quickly, trying to get Harmony to shut up as Saffron started to scowl even more. Harmony could feel the anger now too, it had spread throughout the room. The once cold crypt was as warm as the inside of a furnace as Saffron's anger wouldn't dissipate. Saffron's feelings were so strong that it was frightening Harmony. As Saffron took a step forward, harmony quickly took a step back.
"S-so, this vamp I know. Well, more of a friend of a friend. Anyway, this Lei-Ach demon was totally recruiting his brethren to kill the Slayer! There's this new nether-wig, G-Gory or something? Probably some gross guy with-" Harmony was cut off again, she was backing away from Saffron slowly, she knew the mood that Saffron had had in high school and she also knew that she had some new powers at her disposal that Spike hadn't fully explained what she could do. Harmony was expecting laser beams or Vampire killing mind powers and she didn't want to risk dying, again.
"Is that it, Harmony?" Saffron asked as she backed Harmony through the doorway she had just arrived in the crypt through.
"Well, yeah" Harmony replied, looking up to see if she could recall anything else.
"Then fuck off" Saffron slammed the door of the crypt in her face. Spike smirked and stalked over to his love quickly. He was stood behind her again and he ran his hands up her arms slowly, her aggressive attitude had made him want her more than ever. He moved his hands under her top and felt the soft skin she had been hiding from him in her clothes. His hands were making his way up her body, feeling the cup of her bra as she relaxed at his touch and leaned into him. All the while he was leaving rough kisses on her neck, sloppy with passion. He always lingered on her pulse point and took extra care of it, caressing and kissing her, dragging his blunt teeth along her neck with desire. She was lost in the feeling of his touch, he held her firmly with one hand as he continued to touch her. He started to pull the hem of the t-shirt over her head so he could take it off, but this was the exact moment when she fully comprehended what Harmony had been telling her. She had been too quick to get rid of her in her anger, she hadn't been listening properly. Something was coming to kill Buffy. Her eyes snapped open, they had been closed in pleasure and she pulled herself from spike's strong hold. He looked at her with a frustrated frown. She explained herself quickly and told him to come and help, promising she was all his as soon as they went to warn her cousin. On that guarantee alone he risked getting another beating from the slayer for being around Saff and ran after her through the graveyard to find Buffy.
They arrived at the Magic Box while everyone was sat around doing their research. Saff ran in dramatically which made everyone look up. She was closely followed by Spike and Buffy rolled her eyes and frowned when she saw him. Saffron was panting and had her hands on her knees, trying to get her breath back. The scoobies continued to watch as Saffron caught her breath. She stood back up straight, sending a grin around the room before turning back to being serious. She explained what Harmony had said to Buffy and this sent Buffy straight to the training room to get ready to fight these demons. None of them realised that Tara had just done a spell on them so that nobody would be able to see the demons when they came. Saff looked up, looking to see Spike but he wasn't there. She looked around the room and pouted slightly, but knew that he probably needed to get some blood or something. She started to research with the rest of them. Spike hadn't left the room, but because he was a demon he now couldn't be seen by the rest of the gang. He didn't realise this though as he sat in mostly silence next to Saff while she read through the books. She kept looking at the door and he had been wondering who she was waiting for. All of a sudden, they were all being attacked. Spike didn't understand why the others couldn't see anything and quickly pulled one of the demons away from Saffron who was wildly throwing her arms about hoping to hit something.
xoxoxo
Tara rushed in and reversed her spell and Saffron watched wide-eyed as she did it. They managed to defeat the last of the demons sent to attack Buffy after they could see them again. Why had she hidden. Tara had been knocked over, saff rushed over to help her up, but quickly stopped herself as Willow went to her side instead. She decided to explain to the rest of the group what the demons were.
"It was a Leaky demon or something!" Saffron pointed at the one Buffy had just snapped the neck of in front of Tara's family. Spike had a slight smile on his face at her words and moved next to her to tell her the real name.
"Lei-Ach, pet" Spike whispered from his place stood next to her. She turned and smiled at him for reminding her.
"I meant, Lei-Ach!" She shouted with glee as Tara's family stared at her coldly. That reminded her of Tara, who was still on the floor, "T, what in the high priestesses name is fucking going on?"
"Yeah, I think we all wanna know that" Buffy looked at Tara, waiting for an explanation.
"I just didn't want you all to know that I'm-"
"Demon" Her father spat. Saffron swivelled around and took a step forward towards the three, she wanted to hear this. "The women in our family are demons. She needs to leave with us before worse starts happening" He continued to explain. Giles figured out that Tara cast the spell to stop them all seeing who she really was. Tara got up to leave, feeling horrible about what she did. Saffron started to put her arm out to stop her but Willow got there first to defend her. Tara revealed she didn't want to go with them but the dad started to get pushy which annoyed Saff.
"You're a jumped up piece of shit" saffron's movement towards them was interrupted by her cousin. She put a warning arm on her shoulder and instead she spoke to the family, she said that if they wanted to take Tara they would have to go through her. Saffron agreed and said she would help too, as did Dawn. Saffron cracked her knuckles to appear menacing and Spike smiled from where he was stood in the background. The rest of them spoke up then, except Spike. He just watched.
"Dad, they can't just do this!" Donny gestured at Tara and threatened to hurt her. Saffron didn't wait, she charged at the man then, raised her fist and struck him hard on the jaw. The man was reeling from the punch and hadn't expected it. Xander went and pulled Saff away before he could collect himself and hit her back. Saffron was rubbing her hand. Man, that hurt.
"Yeah, and there's more where that came from buddy!" Xander called and pointed at Tara's brother who was still reeling from the blow. Spike couldn't take his eyes off his girl, he wanted to make sure her hand was okay, but Xander was stood between them now. Anya then asked what kind of demon Tara was and the family didn't seem to have a proper answer. Spike's eyes lit up then, he had figured it out. He sauntered over to Tara, tapped her on the shoulder and punched her square on the nose. Both Tara and Spike cried out in pain. As Saffron rushed over to pull Spike off Tara, she realised what he was doing and so did Willow. He had been hurt, which only worked on humans.
"You're a liar!" Saffron dramatically pointed at Tara's father.
"There's no demon in there. Just a family legend" Spike stated, agreeing with Saff. Saffron rubbed his back, silently thanking him in a way nobody else could see. They both shared a small smile before focusing back on what was going on with Tara's family. Eventually, they left and the others all made sure that Tara was okay before she went too, hand-in-hand with Willow. The others all started to leave then, Saffron and Spike left through the back of the shop.
They had only walked a few steps through the dingy back alley of the shop before Saff reached for Spike's hand. Spike looked back at her, he had been walking slightly ahead in case a demon jumped out at them. His eyes widened at the look she was giving him. That look was back. The one Spike never quite felt he deserved. She was proud of him. His eyes snapped away from hers and he looked at the ground, as if he didn't feel he deserve the way she was looking. Saffron could feel that he was conflicted about helping the group, but most of all he was relishing in the way she looked at him. He was almost embarrassed at how much it meant to him.
Saffron moved to embrace spike, wrapping her arms around him warmly. He held her close to him, his eyes were closed, and he was inhaling her scent as she squeezed him closer to her. Her hands moved slowly up his back, the feeling of leather was familiar, and it made her smile into his chest. They didn't need to say anything, they both knew that this was special. That their relationship was special. They felt closer to each other than ever and neither of them wanted to let go. Their tender moment seemed in direct contrast to their surroundings, the alley was not the nicest place for them to have stopped to silently confirm their feelings for each other, but neither of them cared. They eventually broke apart and gazed at each other, Saffron was still proud of the choice he had made despite him not wanting to come along to the magic box in the first place. She enjoyed how his blue eyes caught the moonlight, Saffron didn't want the moment to end. But they needed to get moving if they were going to beat Buffy to Revello Drive undetected.
xoxoxo
Saffron was stood with Buffy, Xander and Anya in the middle of the packed Bronze. Lots of people showed up to Tara's party and saffron was really pleased for her. Saffron was wearing a deep purple dress that showed a lot of skin, her black fishnet tights were visible far up her thigh and she even brought out her combat boots for the occasion. She was laughing at a joke that Xander had told as she drank some of her rum coke. Dawn was rushing up to everyone then darting away and Saffron laughed and appealed to Buffy to stop her from telling her to quit it, she managed to convince her to let the girl have some fun. Buffy reluctantly agreed and smiled at her cousin. She was enjoying the party and Saffron had a feeling that things weren't all going to be as happy as this in the future. Instead of dwelling on that hunch, Buffy and Saffron went to the dance floor and danced together, it had been a really long time since they had done this. Not since their high school days in the Bronze. They danced in time to the music, both had matching grins on their faces. Both of the girls were enjoying themselves and couldn't feel a pair of eyes watching them from across the room. They eventually left the dance floor when the song changed and Saffron ended up going to see Tara who was stood with one of her witch friends near the stairs.
"Hey T, Jen, you guys enjoying the party?" she asked the pair. They both nodded and Jen seemed to walk away quickly, flicking her head to move her mousy hair from out of her eyes as she scurried away to talk to someone else. "Always been so shy that one" Saffron muttered, shaking her head.
"Thanks for coming, Saffy. I'm sorry for everything that happened when they came"
"Hey, we don't even need to think about them again. Just glad I got a chance to show your brother my true feelings"
"I meant for snapping like I did. That really isn't me"
"I know, T. I mean really. Believe me, I can read your intentions"
"I just- when we first met it convinced me I was definitely a demon. Because of that-"
"Hey, it's your birthday. We don't need to think of that today, but we can speak to G about it and research the coldness that made us both wig. There'll be a simple explanation and hey, neither of us have anything to hide anymore" Saffron added, alluding to their first proper meeting. Neither of them had mentioned it before, and Saff now knew why Tara hadn't wanted to mention it. She thought Saffron could tell she was a demon. Willow joined the conversation then, and both girls smiled at the red head who had been drinking beers since the party had started.
"My favourite girl-friends. You know, friends that are girls… well, Saffy is a best friend that's a girl. Tara is the actual girlfriend" willow babbled, clearly drunk.
"Don't repeat that in front of Buffy. She'd challenge me to a fight for the best friend spot, and we all know how that would end up" Saffron laughed, imagining Buffy beating her to the floor so she could claim her best friend status back with Willow. Willow giggled into her beer bottle and Saff slowly removed it from her hands and Willow pouted. Tara whispered something in her ear that made her soften though.
The party carried on throughout the night and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Dawn had been asking every ten minutes since the party started when Tara would be opening presents and the rest of them finally caved. Saffron announced that it was time for presents and the Scoobies were gathered around the table, all watching Tara peeling the paper off her gifts. Dawn made Tara open hers first, it was a tiny book of spells that Dawn had bought with her own pocket money. Tara smiled and hugged the girl and moved on to open Saffron's present. Saff smiled fondly at her younger cousin, she liked seeing her so happy. It reminded her of Dawn's birthdays as a kid, she had always been impatient about opening presents. Not that they had actually happened, saffron reminded herself.
"A rock? This was the great present you were bragging about getting for Tara?" Xander asked, confused.
"Oh my gosh, is it- is it the real one?" Tara asked, the excitement clear in her voice as the others frowned at the grey stone.
"The one and only, T" saffron beamed, giving an I-told-you-so look to the others.
"Saff!" Tara squealed with excitement. The others just watched the two with a bemused look, obviously they were missing something. Giles came over and his mouth opened in shock at what Saffron had gifted Tara.
"That's impossible! How did you…" he tailed off, instead he gestured silently to ask Tara's permission to study it and picked it up and looked closely. She nodded, still smiling at her friend.
"I have my ways…" She smiled knowingly and tapped her nose, but decided to elaborate once Giles looked at her suspiciously over his glasses, "…and the ways seem to be very similar to flirting with the three eyed demon in the store I found it in to get the price right down. Guess that's one method of acquiring ancient magical artifacts you haven't quite mastered, G" She shrugged, pleased with herself. She could feel half of the room were impressed and the other half, mainly Buffy, was slightly embarrassed about the way Saff had acquired the gift.
"Is anyone gonna put us out of our misery here?" Xander asked, still staring at what he was convinced was a pebble.
"It's the stone of Gataar" Giles stated, still examining it in wonder.
"You know? Big famous stone with healing properties?" Saffron asked the room full of blank faces.
"Even I know that one and I'm in high school. Crack a book, geez" Dawn commented, knowing full well she only knew what it was because Saff had told her when she saw her wrapping it in her room the other day. Saff smiled and ruffled Dawn's hair, not revealing to the rest of them that Dawn had only just found out too.
"Me and T were talking about it one day and seeing as Tara specialises in healing spells, I thought she might like it" Saff shrugged. She could feel the rest of the room looking a bit unsure, and most of the scoobies were a bit sheepish as they didn't even realise that Tara had a specialism.
Saffron was walking over to the corner, putting a stack of disposable cups in the bin. She could feel a presence behind her, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She whipped her head around and saw a familiar sight in the dark corner she was stood next to.
"Honeysuckle" Spike purred from the corner, slowly taking in her whole body before returning his eyes to hers, now darkened with lust.
"Spike! What are you doing here?" She whispered, trying to hide how pleased she was that he was there. She had just been thinking about him and how she wished that she could bring him to things like this. She walked towards him, hidden from the others in the shadows. She smiled up at him, his smirk widened as he thought about what he came here to say.
"Thought I might come to collect on that promise you made" He whispered in her ear after slowly moving the loose strands of hair behind her ear.
"Promise?" She questioned, genuinely not understanding what he meant. He smiled and moved his hands up her back, pulling her closer so that her body was flush with his. He moved her hair, which had been left down for the party, to reveal her neck. He could hear her heartbeat quicken, a sound he always enjoyed when it was from excitement. He turned her so she was against the wall and his body, she flushed pink as she could see the room behind him.
"Mm, the old you can have me if we just go and warn Buffy" he purred, raising his eyebrows knowingly. She remembered then, she had said he could have her as soon as they warned Buffy about that demon. His strong hand started to wonder lower, gradually making their way up her thigh. He kissed her neck purposely at first, he loved hearing the way the breath caught in her throat.
"Spike! Not here…" she started to pull away slightly, but she enjoying the way he felt to put any real meaning behind her words.
"Can't expect me to see you like this and not want to…" His eyes raked her body again, and she smiled and ran her hands up his chest. She leaned in and kissed him properly this time, with a passion that matched his. She forgot where she was for a split second, but realised this was dangerous. She pulled away, still boxed in by him and the corner.
"Spike, what if someone sees?" She asked, looking over from the dark corner they were in. He just smirked and chuckled slightly, they both knew that it was part of the heightened desire they were feeling towards each other.
"Helped Red's girl didn't I?" He asked rhetorically, before planting a kiss on her lips, "Helped you and even helped the slayer, my mortal enemy. Way I see it, you owe me" He landed a kiss after each statement and smirked into the final kiss, knowing her response to his words would be outrage.
"I owe you? I don't think that's how it-" she gave in then, her longing for his touch was too strong to worry about if anyone was looking anymore. His hand snaked around her neck, and the other gradually found itself, once again, sliding lower and lower down her body.