Arezue; Desire

Chapter Seventeen: Love…January 1972. Eternal.

"Come on!" Arezue shouted, sprinting down the alleyway, Connor right behind her. Surprisingly for her, Connor seemed to be able to match her skill for skill, punch for punch and kill for kill (she'd watched him behead a vampire with just his hands moments ago) – and he was managing to keep up with her pace as well.

"Where are we going?" Connor shouted back and, exhilaration running through every part of his body. She reached out and caught his hand, urging him to run faster.

"The subway." She replied as they jumped from one building's roof to the next. "I have to see something." They slowed down as they reached the stairs that lead down to the subway terminals.

"Come on already!" She snapped at him, pulling him down the stairs; anxious to see if it had survived all these years. "It's terminal seventeen." She told him and he nodded, not at all sure as to what she was talking about.

She came to an abrupt halt when they reached the foresaid terminal and Connor crashed into her. Immediately the teenager hunched over, trying to force oxygen into his lungs. Arezue didn't bother; she didn't need to after all. People in the crowds shot the two annoyed looks for not moving fast enough to accommodate the hustle and bustle of the underground city.

Ignoring them, Arezue dropped to her knees as she spotted a couple of handprints in the cement, remembering a certain night that she could never forget.

1972 Los Angeles

Arezue leaned up against the terminal wall, biting her lip anxiously. He'd told her that seven was a lucky number, yet he'd also told her to wait for him at terminal seventeen, as he didn't want to push his luck.

He'd said he'd be back as soon as he was done with her – he'd been so sure of himself, Arezue reflected. According to her watch, it had been nearly four hours since then. Four entire empty hours.

He'd been fighting the slayer for four hours. What if …no…She couldn't let herself think in such a way, she told herself. Thinking it would make it a probability and she knew better then to think she was strong enough to take it.

She clenched her eyes shut, sliding down onto the floor, trying to keep the tears from falling. She would not cry. She would wait for her boyfriend for the next few decades if she had to – he'd be back. He'd promised.

She glanced over to the right where a sign stood, proclaiming the six feet of land flanked by orange cones was still drying and people ought not to tough it.

Somebody clamped their right hand over her eyes, the left one on her waist and leaned in, pressing their hardness against her back.

"Waiting for someone, pet?" A husky English voice drawled into her ear, nearly causing her to faint. The man held her upright as she spun around and threw her arms around his neck; sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shush, love." He whispered in her ear. " Told you 'd be back and here I 'm." she shook her head, although he couldn't see it, pressing her lips to his neck.

"William, oh god… I was so scared." He chuckled, pushing her body away from his so that he could look into her eyes.

"First rite of business, love. Despite contradictions, 'm not god." Arezue managed a small smile at this attempt to make her laugh. "And anyhows, Char, we're gonna spend the rest of our fuckin' unlives together." He told her. "And no bloody slayer's gonna stand in the way." She smiled through her tears and Spike's grin widened.

"Here." He said, spotting the drying cement. "Come, love." He pulled her to the cement and pushed his hand in. "Put yers nex ta mine."

Smiling, Arezue complied with his wishes. After a few seconds he pulled both their hands out, grabbed a hairpin from her hair and began to scribe. 'William the bloody' in the first and 'Charlotte Jane William' in the second; below it he wrote, 'January 1928. Our love will live on forever. Eternal'

"There ya go. Proof." Pulling away his hand, William admired his handiwork, as did she.

"Charlotte Jane William?" She inquired, smiling knowingly at him. He grinned wolfishly at her.

"It'll happen one day, Charlotte Jane, my love." She smiled dreamily at him.

"Maybe you ought to add 'a day' after forever." She told him, causing his right eyebrow to rise.

"Forever and a day?" He asked and she frowned. He made it sound so stupid.

"Well, that's how it's done nowadays." She defended herself. "It's romantic." Spike rolled his eyes at her.

"Now yer jus bein difficult, love." He told her as if it were common knowledge. "Ev'ry one knows women know nothin' of romance. They think that readin' those penny dreadfulls is bleedin' romantic." He scoffed at the thought and Arezue's eyes narrowed.

"The notion of romance changes with the times, William." She replied coolly. "And just so you know, that horrible attitude of yours is called sexist nowadays." William gasped, eyes widening; feigning mock horror at her words.

"No…Pet! However could you think so? You know I'm a firm believer in the women's rights movement and all that rot." He paused "Though it is all just bullocks."

William smirked mentally; debating politics was a form of foreplay for the both of them – when hot wax wasn't available, that is.

"You only say that to get in with the ladies, William." She replied, smirking up at him. "Don't think I haven't noticed, my love." He sighed, as if conceding a point.

"I'm sorry, baby, but there are some things jus' better left to men." She raised an eyebrow at this, a smile playing about her features.

"Like what?" It was shocking how easily such innocent words could be twisted on her tongue. Smirking at her, William threw her roughly against the floor, unmindful of the gasps of horror from onlookers.

"Things like this." He roughly pushed his mouth against hers, silencing her scream of surprise. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Arezue happily kissed him back.

"What is it?" Connor's voice sliced into the memory; bring her back down to reality. She just smiled sadly, pressing her slender hand into Spike's slightly larger handprint.

"Love." She replied breathily. Even now the exuberance hadn't faded. She truly doubted it ever would.

'Charlotte Jane William'. Thinking of what would never be bought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them away. She was to be with Dracula, according to her father, not him. And anyways, even if she weren't promised to Vlad, Spike would never again be with her.

He would love her – that much she knew was true – but he was still too angry with her for what she'd done, to take her back.

It had all happened because of his deranged obsession with slayers. She'd called him on it, told him that it would get him killed one day. That it would drive them apart. She'd told him that she could no longer stand the fear of waiting for him to return every time he got it into his head that he wanted to add another notch to his belt. She'd been angry with him, asked him to choose between her and his hobby.

He'd become angry and told her that if she could ask him to make such a choice, if she couldn't accept him for whom he was, then maybe her love for him wasn't as strong as he'd thought. Then the next morning, he'd promptly left.

There had been no arguments, no fighting. Just his anger and his departure. She'd been with men after him but had never bothered to consider them as anything more then a way to blow off steam.

She'd blamed his leaving on the soul at first. But she knew better, he'd left her because of her questioning of him.

Tears silently cascaded down her face. She'd never meant for him to leave her like that; just – give a little.

"Are you okay?" Connor asked tentatively, kneeling down next to her. She glanced at him.

"Shut up." She sniffled. "Just memories, happens when you live forever." Connor nodded, looking down at the pavement curiously.

"William the bloody and Charlotte Jane William," His brow furrowed. "1928 January. Our love will live on forever and –" He squinted.

"A day." Arezue told him, smiling sadly. "That was added after the cement was almost dry." Connor nodded, finishing up.

"Eternal." He looked up at her. "Were you in love?" She laughed hollowly, trying to keep from showing any signs of weakness.

"Were implies past tense, darling." She pulled herself up. "Come on, it's almost eleven. The club scene should be heating up about now." Connor also stood up; glancing at her.

"Won't we get carded?" Arezue just smirked at him, racing ahead.

"That's half the fun, moron!" Grinning, Connor ran after her – promising himself that he wouldn't touch anything alcoholic. He had no desire to make their father any angrier then he would be when he found out where they'd been all night.