Saffron was sat quietly in the corner, trying not to be noticed by the others. She only made a noise when she was turning a page in the dusty tome of the day. She was on chapter four: The Empath Wars which, unfortunately for her, wasn't as interesting as it sounded. It detailed the ongoing debate surrounding who can call themselves an empath and what the criteria is for the main people in opposition. Saffron was hoping, in vain, for something that maintained she couldn't be an Empath, but realised each one basically said the same thing with only tiny differences. This made her roll her eyes, guessing some dusty men had decided to make a study out of nothing. She was most annoyed that it was one of the books Giles had found most important for her to read. Maybe he's making me read it for punishment, she considered. She flipped another page and stifled a cough as she inhaled a thick layer of dust that had been lying in the book she was reading. Her quiet state had created more suspicion than it would have if she had been speaking. The others had been looking over at her, the air still not properly cleared. She smiled and shut the book with a loud snap, which echoed against the walls of the shop. She had decided not to tell anyone that she hadn't spoken to Spike for almost two weeks, she couldn't bear them renting their high horses again. She loved animals, but she didn't care so much for the high horse.

Saffron moved to sit next to Tara, who was sitting with the rest of the scoobies around the round table they usually researched on together. Giles was walking around, making sure the shop was okay before his trip back to England to speak to the watcher's council. Saffron leaned back on her chair, checking her bright red nails as the others spoke around her. She hadn't felt the need to chip in, she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

"l get to run the store, right?" Anya asked Giles.

"Wait, why should you get to?" Saff finally weighed in during a pause where Giles hadn't yet answered Anya. She had worked there for longer and she was better with the customers than Anya was.

"Well, everyone is acting strange around you because they don't like your boyfriend so I think I should get to run it" Anya replied bluntly. Saff let her words roll off her, she was only saying what was going on. At least she could talk about it openly. Saffron was trying her best to continue as normal even if some of the others hadn't go the memo.

"Or we could run it together" Saffron shrugged, she could tell that Anya didn't mind about her being with Spike. How come she hadn't noticed that before?

"You two?" Giles paused, choosing his words carefully as he answered, "Well, it's quite a lot for the two of you to take care of. The trashmen, for example. They've been making such a mess in the alley the recycling people can't get in to collect. Somebody has to talk to them-"

"I can take care of that" Anya said confidently, nodding happily.

"And I can make sure she's doing it right" Saffron said, laughing at Anya's face dropping after she said it. She realised that Giles still hadn't looked at her since he had spoken up and this worried her.

"l'm envious, Mr Giles. A trip to England sounds so exciting and exotic" Tara saw Saffron's face, not convinced by the way Tara had phrased her statement, "Unless you're English"

"Don't let the movies fool you, it's not all raining earl grey and being served hot crumpets for your supper, T"

"I know that" Tara reminded her and Saff smiled sadly, remembering what she had told her about her parents. Buffy started to reassure Giles that everyone would be helping out as Giles started to make more excuses, hinting that Anya wasn't good with people. Willow started to talk over everyone and say that she would sort everything out and, while Saff appreciated that, she needed Giles to see her as someone that could look after the shop for him. She also could feel the tension between Anya and Willow and decided she needed to do something before it all blew up. She's had enough arguments for one lifetime, and she was barely 20.

"Look, G, I can charm the customers and An can handle the cold hard cash" she flashed him her best reassuring smile, hoping she got credit for effort, "We're the dream team" Saff added gesturing to Anya, trying to convince him. She could feel he was conflicted, on the verge of not trusting her. Which hurt. A lot. He started muttering about booking an earlier flight back which deflated Saffron's efforts at going on as if things were normal, her mood worsened as she had to listen to Willow and Anya squabbling like kids.

The next day, Saffron was walking with Dawn to the Magic Box. It was a Saturday and she wanted to be there for the day to prove how much she could be trusted. Not that she should have to prove it. Dawn had been in a bad mood as she told Saff about how Tony, a boy she had a crush on, had asked Katy, head cheer leader and 'bitch', to the dance instead of her and how unfair her life was. Saffron tried to cheer her up by offering her a go at ordering the others around in the shop as her second-in-command. Dawn was excited at this and managed to instantly forget the drama she was devastated about only moments before. Saffron smiled slightly, but continued to stare at her feet as they walked, she wasn't in the best mood. She kicked a soda can across the pavement as they walked, sighing, which made Dawn finally mention something.

"What's up, chuck?" Dawn asked, smiling at her cousin. She knew it usually made Saff laugh when she used the English slang she had taught her.

"Nothing, dusk till Dawn" She reassured her, but the younger brunette wasn't convinced. Saff would usually at least smile at her attempt at an English accent.

"Liar, Liar!" Dawn chanted, a sparkle in her eye as she got louder as she continued to chant. Saffron rolled her eyes, it was a technique she used to use on Dawn all the time. Or she thought she had.

"Can you keep a secret?" She said in a hushed tone, her stare showing how serious she was. Dawn stopped chanting and nodded a silent agreement. She looked around, making sure they were alone on the street leading to the Magic Box. There were a few people walking around but nobody would be interested in this gossip. Saff sighed and took a cigarette out of the packet, lighting it quickly. They had stopped outside the shop, as Saffron took a few drags and left Dawn waiting excitedly for what Saff was going to tell her. She liked being included. The wind changed and Saff's smoke started to blow towards Dawn's face. She gestured her to move out of the way and when she tried to say something Saff just pulled her to stand in the other direction.

"It's Spike… we had a fight. I haven't seen him in weeks, he told me I was better off with Graham" Saffron explained, taking a long drag from her cigarette and exhaling shakily. Dawn gasped audibly, and Saffron quickly explained exactly what happened. Spike meant so much to her, it felt like she was so alone without him.

"Weird… totally thought he was outside the house last night"

"No chance, Angel's probably in town watching Buff from the shadows again"

"Didn't know he smoked too, but I guess, dead lungs can't get cancer" She said, not convinced that it could have been Angel. She didn't think Angel would bleach his hair or jump and swear at her when she came out and scared him because he was too focused on the house. But Saff didn't need to know that Dawn had already spoken to him. Dawn knew that Spike missed her as much as she missed him.

"And when he's Angelus his insides are black anyway" Saffron said, aiming for humour. Dawn just shivered at the mention of Angelus. Saff had forgotten Dawn's recurring nightmares she'd had since she was a kid. Dawn moved the conversation on, she wanted to know exactly what had gone on with Spike. She loved the two together, she loved romance stories and to her that's exactly what they were. Soulmates, or lack-of-soul mates in Spike's case. Saff explained further about his jealous streak and her saying goodbye to Graham with an innocent hug.

"I miss him, Dawny…" She finally finished. She whispered the last part, embarrassed at being so vulnerable. Emotions suck, especially when they're your own she thought. The youngest summers hugged her cousin tightly as a stray tear tried to escape from Saff's eye, but she caught it quickly on her sleeve before it could fall. She stubbed out the cigarette and fussed at Dawn to stop breathing in the smoke. Dawn stuck her tongue out and protested that a little smoke wouldn't hurt.

They walked into the Magic Box together and Saff rolled her eyes when she saw Willow and Anya already there arguing with Tara stood awkwardly in the middle.

"Any second now you'll make me smoke tobacco and have drugs!" Anya shouted, exasperated at Willow for stealing from the shop and apparently trying to peer pressure her.

"If you wanted to give it a go, An, all you had to do was ask" She said pulling her pack of cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and offering it to her. Anya pulled a face and shook her head and Saff put it away with a half-smile.

"I thought you quit?" Willow asked, scrutinising her.

"Oo look, floating sage" Saff pointed at the levitating items which brought them back to their argument. At least she was off the hook. Anya started to pull everything back onto the table and Willow started levitating other things around the room to annoy her. Saff and Dawn shared a look (and an eye roll) and decided to stay out of it, opting instead to sit around the table to do some research.

Saff was flipping through Empath! Weekly the subscription service for empaths and those looking to improve their intuition. It wasn't exactly the most helpful thing she could be reading, but she enjoyed the horoscopes in the back pages, they were always accurate.

She heard Xander enter the store and only looked up briefly when he got pulled into Anya and Willow's argument. He seemed to leave them to it just as quickly and Tara seemed to have left when Saffron looked back up from her magazine. Dawn was lazily flipping through a herbology book, trying to look up some plants and magic to go with them. It was one of the only magic and mythology books that Giles allowed her to look at so she read it any time she had chance. She laughed when she came to the page about the Honeysuckle and started to recite some of the properties of the plant to try and tease her older cousin.

"…the sweet-smelling blossoms of this plant are believed to induce dreams particularly about love and passion!" Dawn giggled, thinking about if Spike knew this when he gave her the nickname in the first place. He definitely did, she decided giggling again.

"Make yourself useful, look for anything to do with the three" She threw a thick book which landed with a thud in front of Dawn. Dawn remembered their conversation and told herself off for reminding her about missing Spike.

"Funny, it said that Honeysuckle flowers have the numerology characteristics of the number 3" She added, to prove she was being at least a tiny bit helpful.

"That doesn't mean anything, Dawny. Three of a kind, empath abilities, something that can actually help me – I don't know if you've noticed but I don't start sprouting until late May" Saffron replied matter-of-factly as she turned back to her horoscope. She didn't believe in Numerology, she didn't trust messages you needed a calculator to decipher. She instead trusted her own intuition. Dawn wasn't convinced, it seemed to all be the same thing to her.

"We've read through these a million times, how am I supposed to-" Dawn's whining was cut off by a large crash and a shout. A troll suddenly came running out of nowhere and trashed the store. She pulled Dawn up and dragged her out of the back exit, knowing she had to protect her over anything else. She hoped that Anya and Willow would be okay as she took Dawn home as fast as she could.

xoxoxo

The atmosphere was electric as the band of the week made their debut at Sunnydale's number one hotspot. The pair sat together didn't match the atmosphere, however, as they were both trying to come to terms with their own relationship struggles. Anyone of their friends would have been shocked to come across them as they hadn't been close recently. But as soon as Xander heard about Saff's Spike troubles, he welcomed her back with open arms.

"They get in these fights and they both look at me like l'm the referee. l'll say something about Anya, and Willow'll get this ''what do you see in her?'' look." He continued, as they both shared a bowl of peanuts between them. Both were feeling sorry for themselves.

"Well, she can be a lot… but Willow isn't blameless either" Saff opted for an unhelpful, on-the-fence take on his problems, letting him vent more.

"Then l get all torn because Willow's my best friend and l really value her opinion, but Anya's my girlfriend…"

"Sounds like a tough road to be heading down, Xand. Maybe they'll work it out themselves?"

"Helpful, SP" he said sarcastically, but he could tell by her face she was unhappy, "Tell me again about this fight you had with Spike? Give me the R-rated version. Heavy on the gore and violence" She sighed and leaned against Xander, her head in her hands. She really missed Spike and although she appreciated Xander's humour she didn't about this. He patted her on the back, not able to hide that he was glad she wasn't with Spike. But he was concerned for his friend.

"There wasn't any gore or violence. He just went off on one about me saying goodbye to Graham… maybe I shouldn't have hugged him" She said, but as soon as she said it she disagreed with herself. Why should she have to change being friendly because he's insecure? She'd tried so hard to prove she loved him more than anyone.

"I'd call that classic projection" Xander said, pointing at her to emphasise his point as he finished his beer, implying Spike had something to hide.

"Who did you have to kill for that degree in psych? I was more thinking he OD'd on testosterone" Saff replied, shutting down Xander's hint despite the radio silence from Spike. She trusted him, it was him that never seemed to trust her around men. She looked up from where her head was slightly resting against Xander's shoulder as he patted her clumsily. She met someone's eyes. Cold and blue, a flash of amber. Shit.

Spike didn't go over to Saff and Xander as he once would. Instead he just walked to the bar, gripping it in his anger. He ordered his beer and scanned the room, the way he would have done before the chip. A predator looking for its prey.

"The pretty girl is over there" 'Jimmy', as his name badge stated, gestured to where Saffron was sat with Xander, sipping slowly on her own beer. He recognised Spike as the one that always came in with her. The pair at the bar both looked at her, Saff had moved from Xander's side and hadn't looked over again, but they both laughed suddenly at something Xander had said. Spike growled slightly, both at 'Jimmy's' description of Saff and of the fact she seemed to have already moved on to Xander of all people. He had always wondered about them. He turned back and aggressively grabbed the man by his shirt, threatening him before letting him go and stalking off, taking two bottles of beer instead of the one he had ordered. He couldn't tell but she had been watching him from the corner of her eye and she quickly turned to face him when she saw him ball up the bartender's shirt in his fist and appeared to whisper something horrible that meant the poor man ran off leaving the bar unattended.

Saff and Xander stayed nursing their drinks and feeling sorry for themselves. Saff had missed Xander, and despite his only reason for accepting her so easily was because she had fallen out with Spike, she was glad she could spend time with him again.

"Don't look now" Xander hissed, anger clear in his voice. Saffron whipped around to stare in the direction to see Spike, "I said don't look, SP" She gasped audibly and Xander tensed his jaw as they watched Spike talking to a red-haired woman. It was bright red, definitely from a bottle. Her makeup was immaculate and she was giggling flirtatiously as Spike leaned in, handing her a beer and whispering in her ear. She went almost as red as her hair at whatever he had said and Saffron started to boil over with anger. The girl hadn't noticed that Spike kept glancing over towards Saff to make sure she had seen. Xander started to get up, evidently to go and protect Saff's honour and to beat Spike up for blatantly hurting his friend. He knew Spike was bad news for her. Saff stopped him, pulling him back and getting up herself, "I'll handle it" She said coldly, and Xander didn't doubt it. He shuddered, almost feeling sorry for Spike, Saff was a nightmare when she was mad.

Saff tapped Spike on the shoulder, he was busy lightly touching the girl's cheek and whispering lewd suggestions into her ear. He swung around and searched her face, trying to gauge what was coming next. The girl he was with looked at Saff through her eyelashes and beautifully winged eyeliner, noticing her only as she felt the lack of Spike's hand.

"Hi, nice to meet you, you're beautiful" Saff said too sweetly, trying to calm herself down. She extended her hand to the girl, an oddly formal greeting for the Bronze. The girl looked at Spike awkwardly, but Spike had his eyes glued to Saff, no longer caring about the girl he had been chatting up only moments before. As soon as the girl's hands met the red-haired girl felt a jolt of confusion and guilt. Saffron leaned in to whisper to the girl herself, "I'm the girlfriend" before pulling away.

"God, I'm sorry. Dump him, baby" She said genuinely to Saff before scowling at Spike and leaving to find the friends she had left on the dancefloor. Couldn't if I fucking wanted to, she thought to herself. She rounded on Spike, he was anticipating a fight. Harsh words, something to show she was jealous like he had been.

"Where do you get off trying to pick up women in front of me?!"

"Well, I was hoping to get off, but you stopped that one, didn't you?" He said as if it was obvious, before adding, "You… jealous, love?"

"Are you fucking stupid? Of course I fucking am! If I remember rightly, you were the one mad and avoiding me!" She shouted, starting to walk away. She could feel anger and frustrated tears prickling her eyes and she didn't want to start crying in the Bronze. She started to walk away but he grabbed her wrist in an iron grip, spinning her back to face him.

"Didn't take long for you to find yet another boy toy, did it?" gesturing at Xander who had walked up to help out when he saw Spike grab her wrist. Saffron rolled her eyes, but didn't defend her friendship with Xander. She shouldn't have to. Spike knew they were just friends. Spike continued, when he didn't get an answer, "I was being helpful! I helped the slayer, hello my mortal enemy people, by showing her that her soldier boy was whoring himself out to the lowest bidder and did I get a bloody thank you?"

"She didn't need to see the live fucking performance, Spike!" She hissed, pulling her arm from his grip. It hadn't been tight enough to hurt her. He wasn't listening, he just carried on his own sentence.

"-No, you went after saving-private-beefcake for a little comfort!"

"And you just went after little-red-goldilocks for what? The sparkling conversation?"

"l mean, did you want Buffy to be made a fool of?" Spike said, as Saffron continued her side of the conversation.

"You can't keep doing this Spike! I've told you so many times that I would never leave you for anyone else! Not for fucking anything!"

"-And what does a person have to do to make it right?" Spike just finished his own line of argument again, rather than replying to what she had said.

"Perhaps you could start by using some innocent bystander to get at me, that's sure to go down real well-!" Saffron was cut off as she saw a looming figure storm past, making contact with Spike and moving him out of his way, sending him almost crashing into Saff. The pair were millimetres apart, both of them wanted to forget everything they had been saying and kiss. Spike could feel her breath on his face and it was agonising. He hesitated for a second, looking between her eyes and lips, Saffron willing him to kiss her. But instead, Spike whipped around to have a go at whoever knocked into him.

"Hey, watch it mate… on second thought, do whatever you like" Spike said, realising a massive troll had just almost knocked him off his feet. He stood in front of Saff out of instinct as the Troll went to find ale. The troll started talking about eating babies as Xander wondered whether to go and find Buffy or not. All three of them started to back away slowly as Willow and Anya entered the Bronze.

"I wish Buffy was here" Willow gulped, staring at the troll and flipping through the magicbook she had brought with her.

"I'm here" Buffy shouted, entering with Tara in tow.

"I wish I had a million dollars… just checking" Willow said as the others stared and she shrugged. Willow started her spell but the troll stopped her, he clearly hated witches. He explained that he knew Anya from years ago. They had dated before she had become a vengeance demon.

"You dated him?" Xander asked, shocked.

"You dated a troll?" Buffy repeated slowly, trying to make sure she had heard right. Why was their group of friends so insistent on dating creatures of the night?

"And we're what? Surprised by this?" Willow said, flipping through more pages.

"I mean, come on Anya, even I wouldn't date a troll" Saff muttered as Spike shifted slightly at her words. The troll started to get mad when he realised that Willow was a witch and attacked the beams supporting the second level of the Bronze, creating casualties before leaving. Buffy stayed behind to help the injured, as did Spike. Saff left to help find a spell to get rid of the troll, she took one last look at Spike, and left with the others. Buffy squinted suspiciously at Spike and walked over to him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, crossing her arms and raising a perfectly-plucked brow.

"Making this woman more comfortable" He said, arranging a cushion out of some clothes for her, her face had fresh wounds and Buffy stared between Spike and the victim, "I'm not sampling, I'll have you know, I mean look at all these lovely blood-covered people. I could. But not a taste for Spike, not a lick. I know she wouldn't like it" He added, gesturing towards the direction that Saffron just left out of.

"You want credit for not feeding off bleeding disaster victims?"

"Well, yeah"

"From what I hear, you and Saff are splitsville anyway, why bother?"

"Because it's the decent thing to do" Spike shrugged, not entirely sure why he was helping. He knew she'd want him to, but he wasn't doing it so that she would find out. So why was he helping? Something stuck with him, his own private explanation. To be a man. Her man.

xoxoxo

Saffron lit up a cigarette as she tried to relax after the third run-in of the day she'd had with the troll. Thankfully, this time they managed to get rid of him. Well, Buffy and Willow did. Saff just stood and watched with Tara. As she exhaled the smoke from her lungs, she saw someone in her peripheral vision hovering near the noticeboard in the coffee shop she had chosen for that evening. She needed to do something to fill her evenings now she wasn't spending time with Spike. She had been trying to hide her face from the miserable waitress who had thrown her out before. She turned, recognising the thin figure staring at the board. She looked between the girl and the noticeboard and stopped dead. The cards fixed to the board were arranged in the shape of the number three. You've got to be fucking kidding. Saff shook her head, stubbing out her cigarette and decided to get the girl's attention.

"Hey, Jen, right?" the girl just nodded, looking around to see if anyone else was around. She really wanted her fortune told but Saffron intimidated her and she seemed to bring loud, scary people with her wherever she went. "Hey, don't worry it's just us. You know Tara right? I can give you mates rates if you like, $9.50 will do" She smiled as Jen reached into her pocket and gave her the exact change.

"T-thanks" Jen said, a puzzled look on her face, knowing full well she had only got .50 off the charge. The girl sat down in front of Saff, her eyes hidden by her over-grown bangs. She should really get it cut.

"No, thank you!" She smiled, popping open her metal change box and hiding the cash inside before turning to start shuffling her cards, "Was there something on there you were looking for?" She asked, gesturing towards the noticeboard.

"N-no, I was just trying to figure something out" She tailed off, her natural voice was barely above a whisper as it was and Saff had to strain to hear her over the sound of busy chatter around them. Saff looked at her and stopped shuffling, waiting for her to elaborate, "Have you noticed that everything comes in threes?" Jen asked. Saffron snorted, more than you know. Saff nodded slowly and carried on shuffling. She could tell it was just an observation, Jen didn't have any information about prophecies to tell her. And why should she? The girl was too busy enjoying her normal, big destiny-free life.

"You wanna split the pack, Jen?" She asked. Jen reached forwards just as the doors of the diner flew open and a bleached-blonde vampire strided confidently over to the booth Saff and Jen were sat in.

He was wearing his leather duster, a red shirt underneath and a black t-shirt that hung perfectly on his torso. He swaggered over and looked between the two women, irritated that Saff wasn't alone. Even with the bad diner lighting, he looked like a well-sculptured-

Stop it, she reprimanded herself looking away from where she could only be described at staring longingly at the attractive vampire.

"Move" He said to Jen, moving to the side to let her slide out of the booth. She looked at Saff for a second then back at Spike. Saff could feel that the girl was desperately trying to be brave but her anxiety was exhausting Saffron as she watched the exchange, Jen's emotions influencing her own. Spike sighed, frustrated that she wasn't leaving and moved so that their faces were level and flashed his vamp face at her, throwing in a growl for good measure. She jumped and Saffron felt icy fear running down her spine.

"Spike!" Saff managed to shout over the debilitating fear she could feel from across the table. Jen squeaked, jumping again as Saff shouted. She got up hurriedly, wincing as she passed Spike and ran for the exit, not looking back as Spike threw himself into the seat opposite Saff. Still got it, he thought smugly.

"Was that necessary? The poor girl will never come back this time!" She said, staring at Jen as she ran through the street, wiping her eyes as she went. Saff sighed, shaking her head. She re-lit the cigarette she had ended when she noticed Jen and watched as Spike lit up his own. There was a silence as the pair looked at each other. Both waiting to see if the other spoke first. They had both finished their cigarettes by the time he spoke up.

"I miss you, love" He admitted. She stilled, it hadn't been what she had expected. She was usually the one that initiated the make-ups. She looked towards him, searching his face. The scar on his eyebrow was noticeable under the light, his eyebrows were knitted together slightly as his words hung in the air between them. She realised she had been staring for too long. He didn't know where they stood. She whispered that she missed him too, looking down at the sticky laminated menu as she said it. He reached for her hand, where it held the menu and rested his hand on top of hers. She looked down at it and then back at his face. She saw Spike's mouth moving, muttering something. She couldn't quite catch it.

"What was that?"

"Don't make me say it again, Honeysuckle"

"I, uh, really didn't hear you"

"Can't you feel it or something? What with the touchy-feely super-brain?" He said gesturing with the hand that wasn't on hers towards her face. She paused, focusing on his feelings, looking down at his hand again. She liked seeing his hand on hers. She could feel his regret and how much he missed her, as well as something else… an apology.

"Maybe you should just say it… just in case" She said, the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried not to smile at his nature. Spike caught the twitch and snapped his eyes up to meet hers.

"I'm sorry alright?"

"I don't think I quite caught that…" A proper smile on her face this time as he smiled back at her. She loved that smile. It was rare, and even rarer in public. She savoured every second.

"You bloody heard! I mean it, love. I can't do this again, I can't face the cold nights without you in them"

"It was a nightmare without you, I felt the same, but you can't keep doing this every time I speak to a guy, whether I've been close to him or not" She said calmly, "Just, please. Try to cool the jealousy? I get it, of course I do… but you're the only one for me. I love you so much, Spike"

"You are… the love of my life" He said slowly, his eyes gazed at her softly as if he had just found something precious he had lost, he added, "or, my unlife, take your pick" with a shrug as she gazed back at him, her eyes saying so many things.

"We're both flawed, Spike. You were right, you know. It's not perfect but it will always be ours"

They both swore they could hear music swelling as they stood up at the same time, Spike almost throwing the table out of their way as it stood between them. He took her face in his hands and brought her lips crashing into his. They moved against each other, as Saff ran a hand up his back trying to bring herself as close as possible. Their lips fit together perfectly, deepening the kiss with ease as Spike tangled his hands into Saff's hair. They continued like that for a long time, desperately pouring unspoken feelings into that kiss.

Both of them frowned as they heard a sudden, loud noise as the Café erupted into applause around them. They frowned, reluctantly parting to see what the fuss was about. Apparently, it was them.

"What is this the fucking matinee? Go back to drinking your crappy coffee" She stared around the room, annoyed at the interruption as Spike's lips had moved from hers. Spike backed her up with a glare and stuck his two fingers up at the room. The other customers all looked at each other awkwardly and went back to their coffees, a silence blanketed the room. What is it with Americans and clapping? Not even the hiss of the coffee machine could be heard as everyone in the room felt uneasy at being challenged by the two. They grinned at each other and Spike took her hand in his, pulling her towards the exit.

They managed to make it to Spike's crypt. He would have been happy to take her to the alley around the corner, but he knew she had a reputation at that particular café anyway and didn't want to make it worse. They had barely made it across the threshold before Spike attacked her with hungry kisses, heated desire filling the room as they fought against their clothes. Spike suddenly thought about something and moved away towards the other side of the room, leaving Saff stood half-undressed on the other side. Saff whined at the loss of contact and he motioned that he'd be one minute. He took an old wooden chair and propped it underneath the handle of the crypt, ensuring that there would be no unwelcome visitors tonight. Tonight was for them and them alone.

He stalked back to her, taking her hips and pulling her flush to him with his firm hands. They picked up where they left off, Saffron no longer noticing the cold as her body was heated with passion. They were all hands, desperately bringing the other closer. She pulled at his shirt, moving it off his shoulders it to reveal his bare chest. Her eyes ran over his tight abs, before looking back up to him, her eyes darkening.

She ran a hand down his chest agonisingly slowly, stopping just short of his waist band, a gleam in her eye as Spike let out a frustrated groan. She paused for too long and Spike acted fast, he firmly took her and pressed her hard against the wall. Pushed against the cold concrete of the crypt, she couldn't stop a moan escaping as his lips were on her neck again. He moved to nip the soft skin above her chest and her hands curled into his hair, tugging lightly and willing him to continue. She leaned into his ear as he continued to press rough kisses against her skin.

"Yours" she whispered into his ear, a low growl escaped his lips as he took her to the couch, unable to wait any longer.

xoxoxo

Saffron had hiccups. She hated hiccups, they were so unpredictable. She had brought down some water in a tall glass, lots of ice, with a pink swirly straw poking out of it. She started to play something on her cd player, one of her less heavy tastes in music, before taking her cup and setting it on the floor. She pulled her combat boots off and managed to do a handstand, resting her feet on the wall to keep her up. She hadn't tried a handstand since she fell on her face in 1997, but she decided she would rather risk it than suffer with hiccups for a moment longer. She had heard somewhere that drinking upside down was supposed to cure them, so she reached her mouth to the straw and started to sip the cool liquid. She screwed her eyes up, hoping the hiccups would go soon.

"What are you doing?" A loud voice called out, which took Saffron off-guard. She jumped with shock and lost her balance, leading her to crash to the floor in a heap. At the same time, Buffy moved to switch off the music and sit on the end of Saff's bed. Watching her cousin peel herself from the floor.

"Shit, Buff. You're not on patrol, you don't need to be skulking in the shadows. That's my job"

"Sorry, force of habit" Buffy smiled, showing Saff that she had done it on purpose. Saff rolled her eyes, taking her glass and continuing to drink as she sat next to Buffy.

"Well, you've actually cured my hiccups so, thanks, I guess" Saff said, referring to the shock she had got from Buffy as she rubbed her head. She was going to get a lump there; she could feel it. There was a pause as Saff could feel that Buffy was trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say. Saff gave her a look to say 'spit it out' before Buffy finally opened her mouth to speak.

"Xander told me you and Spike could be breaking up… that would actually make my life a lot easier" She looked at her younger cousin to gauge her reaction.

"Not happening, just a short lover's tiff. Over now. And anyway, a good argument makes the make-up sex more interesting" She winked, realising that was a mistake.

"I'm very happy for you" Buffy said flatly. She was still hurting after the breakup with Riley so Saff didn't take it too personally.

"Is there, uh, anything I can do?" saff asked, patting her cousin's shoulder, "You know you can talk to me, Buff"

"I can stop thinking about him. He was always there when I needed him…" Buffy started, but tailed off with a sigh.

"Yeah but if he was… paying to play away is he really someone you want in your life?" Saff chose her words as carefully as she could. She could sense that Buffy was on the verge of a break down of some kind. She would have to keep an eye on her cousin.

"He loved me" Buffy said quietly as the brunette moved to put a caring hand on her cousin's shoulder.

"But did you love him? I mean really love him?"

"I went to ask him to stay. But they had already left on the chopper" Buffy said sadly, her eyes watering as tears threatened to spill over. Oops, Saff thought about what she had said to Riley but shrugged. Buffy didn't need to know. There was a long silence as she could feel Buffy getting lost in her emotions, bringing Saff with her. She decided to change the topic. It was important, anyway.

"I've been getting these visions and seeing this number everywhere. I think it's to do with Dawn"

"What number?"

"Three. Don't you see it too?" saff asked, looking at Buffy who shook her head, "The Chosen, The Key and The Sight. The three. G won't listen to me, but I think we need to research those three to find out what it could mean. Dawn's obviously the key…"

"You're the sight" Buffy added, and they both looked at each other, leaving the last one unsaid. Buffy had always been the chosen one.

"I need you to talk to G again. Tell him, or remind him, about the prophecy when he's back, get the research started without me"

"What are you gonna do? It obviously has a lot to do with you"

"Aw, I know there isn't a party like a Saff-research-party, but it's for the best. Until Giles can stay in a room with me for longer than five minutes"

Buff promised to talk to G as soon as he walked in the door and they hugged again before Buffy turned to leave. Another patrol that would last almost all night as she took out her frustrations on any demon she could find, leaving Saffron happily thinking about her own relationship. The opposite of how her poor cousin was feeling.