Kat pulled her leather jacket tighter around herself as she and Spike walked down the street. It was dark and chilly and she wished she'd either said no to this little outing or at least changed her clothes. She was wearing a black off-the-shoulder maxi dress that had slits at the thighs and her Docs. Her red hair blew slightly in the wind and she wondered why the fuck she agreed to this. They were in a really bad part of town so she wasn't shocked this was where the demon bar was. It was like her baser human instincts were kicking in, telling her to run. Like it was picking up on being surrounded by predators. They hadn't spoken since they left the shop but it wasn't uncomfortable either. It was a strange companionable silence as they moved through the streets of the slums of Sunnydale. Before long, they reached the bar and Spike pushed the door open, her trailing in behind him.
It felt like the place went silent as they walked in, all eyes turning to them. Her in particular. Yeah, this wasn't a good idea at all. Instinctively she stepped closer to Spike without even thinking about it. He was the lesser of all evils and better the devil you knew. She was startled when he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, glaring at the patrons of the bar as a growl rumbled deep in his throat. She never forgot the fact he was a vampire but sometimes his primal animalistic nature startled her. He always seemed to act so human these days. The patrons seem to heed the warning Spike put out as they all turned back to what they were doing. She couldn't bring herself to relax though. He led her to the bar and she sat on a stool, him sitting next to her.
"What you fancy to drink, Kitty?" he asked before the bartender came over.
"Beer? They do serve human drinks here, right?" she asked warily. She really didn't feel like slurping some weird bodily fluids. He looked amused as he snorted a little.
"Might be a demon bar but the occasional human comes in. Some of us like to drink human alcohol too sometimes," he explained. She felt relieved a little and smiled at the human bartender as he came over. She always found it strange that Willy owned a demon bar when he was very much human.
"Oh god, why did you bring her here?" Willy groaned, looking at Kat like she was a time bomb about to explode. She wasn't much offended. Buffy had roughed him up a fair few times and Kat had been there. He associated her with the Slayer which meant trouble for him. She just flashed him a toothy grin.
"Relax, here for pleasure, not business," Spike drawled. Kat hated the way he said it. How no matter what he said it had the capacity to sound dirty and even Willy picked up on it as he looked between them both with a sly grin.
"Good. What can I get you both?" he asked as Kat tried to will her pink cheeks to calm the fuck down.
"Beer for Kitty, usual for me," Spike said with ease. Willy nodded and got to work as they sat there.
She still felt on edge being in a room, willingly no less, with all these monsters. It felt like the opposite of what she should do. A very stupid move. Yet here she was anyway. She tapped her fingers on the bar rapidly, a telltale sign she was anxious and a few seconds away from bolting out the door. She couldn't help it. Fight or flight was kicking in around all of these predators.
"Soddin' relax, will you? Ain't gonna let anythin' happen," Spike huffed. She noticed he sounded somewhat offended that she was worried in the first place.
"Unless I piss you off enough, then you'll throw me to the wolves," she muttered. It meant to be under her breath but she should know more than most he'd hear her. His head whipped to her then with a stony glare and she wondered why that seemed to hit a nerve.
"Right. Better not piss me off then, yeah?" his voice was harsh and she blinked at him, not understanding why it upset him so much. There was a tense silence as Willy brought over her beer and what she could only presume was a glass of blood for Spike. She wondered if it was mixed with booze given it was a bar. She tried not to think about where the blood came from.
"Round o' Jamesons too," Spike ordered before Willy walked away. Did she annoy him that much he was resorting to whiskey? Her answer was in the form of a shot being placed in front of them both, not just him.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not great at holding my alcohol," Kat snorted, picking up her shot and glancing at him. His mood seemed to have shifted as he tossed her an amused smile. While she didn't usually like getting drunk, after everything she'd been through, she felt like maybe letting loose for once might help her.
"Few shots should be alright. I'd be right disappointed if you were that much of a lightweight," he replied with a teasing smirk. She rolled her eyes, tossing her shot back with a wince. It burned like a bitch and she coughed slightly, hating how he drank his like it was water and looked like he wanted to laugh at her.
"Not a word! I'm not an old man like you, you've had plenty of time to get used to it," she huffed, swigging her beer to help ease the burn of the whiskey. It didn't help.
He scoffed, pursing his lips as he turned fully on his stool so he was facing her.
"I'm not bloody old!" he protested, offended. She smirked, raising her brow as she took another lazy pull from her beer.
"I mean… you are. You're like over 100 or whatever. That's just… super old," she grinned.
"I'm young by vamp standards, Kitten. Only 126," he huffed almost petulantly. She guessed he was right in that regard.
"Yeah but by human standards, you're super old," she snorted. He sulked as he ordered another round of shots and slurped his own blood alcohol mix and she hid her smirk at how much she had hit a nerve. She hadn't lied to him when she said she couldn't hold her liquor. She already felt the warmth of her shot spreading through her body as she relaxed a little. She needed to quit after the next one or she'd end up on the floor. She was such a lightweight, it was embarrassing. Willy brought them the other shots and this one went down a little easier and she tried to ignore the slight burn in her throat.
"Are you really sulking about this?" she asked, amused. He turned his eyes to her and scowled.
"Not sulkin'," he glowered, clearly a lie. She snorted, draining more of her beer.
"Mhm, sure. Hey, look on the bright side, you're pretty hot for a super old dude," she laughed. Her filter was clearly glitching with the small quantity of booze in her system but she couldn't really care. He was an asshole, but he was hot.
His childlike glare turned into a smug smirk and she rolled her eyes.
"Think I'm hot do you?" he asked with a wiggle of his brows.
"I think anyone with eyes would think you're hot. Doesn't help your personality any though," she smirked. He squinted at her, once again offended and she burst out laughing. Suddenly another shot was in front of her but she chose to wait for a little before drinking it.
"Wanna play a game?" he asked after a moment. He was on his third drink and god knows how many shots and Kat was jealous of the vampire's ability to hold his drink. Then again, she imagined it would be really hard to get drunk on purpose.
"Depends what game it is," she stated with a wary look. She didn't trust him to not pull a fast one on her. He looked deep in thought for a moment before he turned to face her again. She knew her cheeks were a little pink but it wasn't from him this time. The drink had her feeling warm and fuzzy. Not quite drunk but almost there. She actually felt relaxed despite her current surroundings.
"What about How, Why, When and Where?" he asked with a shrug, slurping his drink. She watched as a drop of blood dripped down the corner of his lips and his tongue darted out to catch it.
"What's that?" she asked curiously.
"Old Victorian game. One person thinks of a word, keeps it to themselves. The other person guesses what it is but they can only ask four questions," he explained with a smirk.
"Let me guess; how, why, when and where?" she snorted.
"How do you like it? Why do you like it? When do you like it? Where do you like it?" he clarified. She looked somewhat puzzled and she knew the alcohol hadn't helped her mental clarity. He rolled his eyes with a sigh, leaning his elbow on the bar as he faced her.
"So say I picked blood. How do I like it? Fresh and spicy. Why do I like it? Bloody tastes good. When do I like it? Whenever I can get my hands on it. Where do I like it? Anywhere," he explained further. It made sense but she wished he'd used another example other than blood.
"Okay, I think I get it," she nodded, sipping her beer as her other shot still sat on the bar. She needed to pace herself.
"Good, you can go first," he smirked. She licked her lower lip as she thought about what she wanted him to guess about. A sly grin spread across her face as she picked and he narrowed his eyes distrustfully as she glanced at him.
"I'm ready," she smirked. He scratched at his scarred brow as his eyes pierced hers and she idly wondered if he had some kind of mind-reading abilities he was trying to use on her with how hard he stared at her.
"How do you like it?" he asked, casually sipping his drink. She turned her stool like he had so they faced each other completely.
"Hard and rough," she replied, batting her lashes a little with a coy smile. His eyes widened a fraction at her tone and words but he seemed to perk up. A dirty grin etched on his lips as he leaned a little closer to her. Seemingly more interested in the game.
"Why do you like it?" he asked with a sultry drawl. She blamed the booze for her body flushing.
"It'd bring me great pleasure," she smirked, nibbling on her lower lip and noticing how his eyes were drawn to the motion.
She squeaked when he used his boot to pull her stool closer to him, the noise killing her ears as the stool legs scraped across the floor. She blinked up at him, her heart thumping at his predatory smile. One of his arms was leaning on the bar and now his other hand was leaning on her stool, right next to her thigh. His thumb was just touching the skin of her thigh because of the position of the thigh slit of her dress. She idly wondered if this was a good idea to tease him this way given what happened last time, but drunk Kat wasn't great at making good life choices it seemed.
"When do you like it?" he drawled smoothly, right in her space.
"Anytime works for me," she murmured breathlessly. Was it the booze or Spike that was making her feel lightheaded? Her breathing hitched when he leaned in next to her ear.
"Where do you like it, Kitten?" he purred softly, making her shiver.
"Anywhere," she replied in an almost whisper. He moved his face right to hers then, too close for comfort as he gave her a wolfish grin. She knew his mind was right where she wanted it to be now.
"I mean, staking you would be the best thing I'd ever do. Don't think I could put a time or place to it," she smirked at him. He looked stunned. Actually speechless that she'd lead him on so easy and then he scowled.
"Bloody tease you are," he huffed, moving his arm quickly away from her and turning back on his stool. He stole her still undrank shot and downed it before calling for more. She bit her lip to stifle a laugh at him as she leaned her chin on her hand and glanced at him.
"If you weren't so easy to wind up, I wouldn't do it," she snorted.
He shot her a look, staring at her for a moment before his face turned more neutral and he shrugged.
"Fair enough. Guess it's why I do it to you too," he admitted. She hadn't expected him to just accept her answer like that but she was hardly shocked by his answer. She knew he wound her up far too easy and she always played into it. She couldn't help it. He had this way of getting right under her skin and having her playing right into his hands. The shots arrived and he pushed hers to her with a look, clearly not happy she didn't have the last one. With a roll of her sky blues, she swiftly drank it, only slightly wincing at the burn.
"Let's play a different game since you're a bloody cheat," he mused, knocking back his shot.
"I didn't cheat!" she protested with a frown. He snorted and shook his head.
"Didn't play fair either though, did you?" he quirked his brow and she couldn't argue. Instead, she gave him a toothy grin that made him chuckle and shake his head.
"Fuck, marry, kill?" he suggested. She'd played a tamer version of this with Buffy and friends in the past. Kiss, marry or avoid. She shouldn't have expected Spike to play tame though.
"Alright," she shrugged. She found herself enjoying the night as weird as it was. She kept forgetting she was in a demon bar. Sat here with Spike of all people. She was chilled out and her mind was firmly off the world-ending crap that always seemed to be circling them. He had succeeded in what he said he would.
"Xander. Fuck, marry or kill?" he asked with a smirk. She scrunched her face up and glared at him.
"Uhhhh… Marry, I guess?" she replied with a shrug. He looked shocked and also a little horrified.
"You'd soddin' marry the whelp?" he scoffed. She laughed lightly and sipped her second beer that she didn't remember ordering, nor it arriving.
"Well, I wouldn't fuck him and I couldn't kill him. If we got married I wouldn't have to do anything with him. We'd be one of those married couples that live different lives. Like ships in the night. He works all hours and ends up having an affair with the secretary at work, but I'm not upset because I've been banging the hot mailman," she giggled, her last shot maybe tipping her over that fine line between tipsy and drunk.
Spike barked out a laugh at her, looking more than amused.
"Only you could manage to bloody make a game like this more elaborate," he shook his head fondly and sipped his drink.
"Okay…. Buffy, fuck, marry or kill?" she asked with a devilish grin. He looked like she just slapped him before he huffed.
"Kill," he said without hesitation. Her eyes widened and she smacked him in the chest. It wouldn't hurt given the fact she was a weak little human and it only served to make him laugh. It was weird seeing and hearing him laugh like he was enjoying himself. The only time she'd heard him laugh like that was in the midst of a fight but that was a little darker. Other than that it was always at others' expense. This was different.
"What? You surprised? I'm evil, remember? She's the Slayer. Only natural order," he shrugged. She shook her head with an eye roll. She really shouldn't have been surprised and she decided to let it go. Because it wasn't like he could kill her with that chip in his head.
"Giles; Fuck, marry or kill?" he asked teasingly.
"Ew, dude, he's like a dad to me!" she exclaimed, feeling like she might just vomit all the booze she consumed at the thought. He burst out laughing at her and she glared at him. He gave her a shrug and she sighed.
"Kill," she replied with a glower. He looked surprised before snorting.
"Hate him that much, pet?" he asked playfully. She pouted, sipping more of her beer.
"No. But I'm not marrying him, that's just weird and I'm sure as fuck not doing… that with him," she shuddered, chugging her beer to try and rid herself of her train of thought. Spike seemed to take great amusement in her discomfort though.
"Anya?" she asked curiously, moving her stool a little to face him better. He smirked at her and licked his lower lip.
"Fuck," he shrugged. She tried to ignore the blatant pang of envy that shot through her stomach. It was the booze, nothing else.
"Really?" she asked with a snort.
"She's alright. Bit weird but it's to be expected for an ex-demon. Don't feel the need to kill her but I couldn't bloody marry her. Then I would kill her," he replied with a chuckle. She giggled a little and shook her head. She loved Anya but she was too much sometimes. She had no idea how Xander hadn't gone insane yet.
Kat finished her beer off and glanced around the bar.
"I need to use the bathroom. There… There is a bathroom in this place, right?" she asked carefully, settling her eyes on Spike who looked like he was trying not to laugh at her.
"You are aware Willy is a human, yeah? You think he goes out the back alley to piss?" he snorted. Her cheeks flushed feeling a tad stupid but it was gone as quick as it came thanks to her alcohol-soaked brain. Spike gestured with his head across the room to a door.
"Through there. Make sure you go to the ladies, not the gents," he teased with a smirk.
"I don't know how I'd have got by without that advice," she snarked playfully, earning a mock glare. She slid off her stool, flashing him the finger when he chuckled as she swayed a little. What was it about drinking? As soon as you stand up you feel it like 50 times more.
"Weren't lyin' about bein' a lightweight then I see," he gloated.
"Hey, I did warn you. This is on you," she grinned, too drunk to really care she was being far too friendly with him.
She meandered to the door, swaying a little more than she was happy about, but it was too late now. She couldn't wring her brain out to make it a little less full of booze. She found the toilets, ironically remembering Spike's advice and making sure she went in the right one. Maybe it wasn't too far off for him to make sure she remembered after all. She did what she needed to do and after washing her hands, she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were dilated from the drink, only a sliver of blue peeking around the black. Her cheeks were a little pink and she was smiling without meaning to. She needed to get that in check. She looked like a fucking psycho. She giggled to herself, combing her hands through her hair a little. She'd left it down and it was starting to annoy her. She was the kind of girl who always wore a hair tie on her wrist for when she needed it and she smirked at her own cleverness a little too much as she tossed her hair up in a high ponytail.
When she left and went back to the main bar area, she saw Buffy and Xander there, Buffy arguing with Spike. She was too far away to hear what was being said but she saw Willy nearer her end of the bar and Willy gave her a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, kid," he shrugged. Her jaw dropped as she glared at him.
"You told on me?" she asked incredulously. She was too drunk to argue that she wasn't a kid or how she was a little older than Buffy and he had no right to 'tell on her'.
"Hey, I like my limbs intact thank you very much. I want on the Slayer's good side. I didn't know if she knew you were out frolicking at demon bars with Spike," he huffed. She sneered at him as she made her way over to the trio still arguing. Buffy spotted her first and looked shocked, rushing over and crushing her bones with a tight hug. The air left her lungs in an 'oof'.
"The hell Buff?" she complained, extracting herself from her cousin's death grip. Xander was blinking at her looking weird and Spike was switching between glowering at Buffy and Xander and then warily watching Kat.
"You're okay," Buffy breathed with a smile. Kat raised her brow at her and then Xander.
"We may have thought… something happened to you," he shrugged sheepishly with a smile. Spike scoffed loudly and Kat looked at him then as he scowled at Xander.
"Bloody accused me of doin' somethin' to her more like!" he spat angrily.
"I left a note!" Kat frowned at her friend and cousin. Buffy looked a little embarrassed and nodded, glancing between her and Spike.
"You did but… but you just said you were going out for a drink. You didn't say where or who with. You never go out drinking on your own. You barely even come with us. I thought it was against your will," she explained. Xander flashed her a placating smile then as he held his hands up.
"In our defense, after that, when we found out someone saw you in this area with Captain Peroxide over there, well we put two and two together," he laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah, 'cause two plus two equals five, you bloody morons," Spike huffed, slamming his glass down after swigging the rest of its contents. If Kat was sober she might have felt bad that her cryptic note had people looking for her worried. Maybe even a little bad that Spike was being accused of doing god knows what with her.
"Why would you think Spike did something? He's chipped, like a little puppy," she snorted, too drunk to care as she smushed his cheeks. Xander snorted while Buffy looked on wide-eyed and Spike glowered at her so hard she was shocked she didn't burst into flames.
"I resent that statement," he growled as he wrenched his face from her grip. She flashed her pearly teeth with a grin though and he heaved a sigh.
"Wow, Kat. You're wasted," Xander laughed, seemingly enjoying her behavior.
"Yeah, she is," Buffy said with a hard edge as she glared at Spike.
"What? I forced it down her soddin' throat, did I? You do realize she's older than you, yeah?" Spike snapped.
"Come on guys! Why are we fighting? Why can't we all just be friends? It's not like I went out and had some wild demon orgy, Buff. It's fine," Kat waved dismissively. She went to grab the shot that Spike must have ordered for her when she was in the bathroom but he moved it away with pursed lips. She frowned and looked at him with wide sad eyes and she was sure he gave her a slightly apologetic look.
"Best get home, Kitten," he murmured.
"But I was having fun," she whined, much like a child. She missed Buffy rolling her eyes or how Xander was grinning from ear to ear. She didn't miss, however, how Spike's lips quirked up ever so slightly as he watched her pout.
"Maybe another time, pet," he'd said it so softly she wasn't sure he'd said it at all, but suddenly Buffy had hold of her hand and was dragging her away. Before they had a chance to drag her out the door though, she glanced back to Spike who was still watching her.
"Get someone to beat up Willy! He ratted on us!" she yelled out. Spike chuckled, shaking his head as he raised his drink at her as if agreeing. She gave him one last blinding and very drunk grin before Buffy successfully got her out of there.
She was still swaying a little on her feet, standing between Buffy and Xander as they walked home. Buffy held her hand and Kat wondered if it was to stop her wandering off. Like one of those weird leash things parents put on toddlers.
"What the hell, Kat? You were out with Spike?" Xander asked after a moment. He sounded horrified as if it only just hit him and she snorted to herself.
"I wanted to have some fun," she shrugged carelessly.
"Again… with Spike?" he asked incredulously.
"He's an ass but he's a fun ass," she grinned at him. He seemed to find her amusing again and laughed lightly as Buffy scowled at him for encouraging her.
"You really are drunk," she sighed, holding her hand tighter. Kat hummed in agreement, feeling like the air was doing the opposite of making her sober. She started to get really tired and started to slow down.
"Alright, hop on, drunkie," Xander said as he crouched. Kat blinked at him for a moment wondering what he was talking about before Buffy failed to hide her slightly amused smile and gestured with her head.
"Oh!" Kat exclaimed, earning more laughter from Xander. She hopped onto his back, squealing a little when he stood back at full height. She clung to him like a koala on a tree and rested her head against his with a yawn.
"Do you ever think about aliens? Do they have pets? Are there little alien puppies and kittens running around on like Mars or something?" Kat rambled drunkenly, causing Xander to start chuckling at her again.
"I tend to think their pets might look like lizards or something," Xander mused, sounding half-serious.
"Puppy lizards? … Pizards? Luppies?" Kat asked, sounding like someone just asked her to explain quantum physics. Xander burst out laughing, a full-on belly laugh as Buffy frowned at the pair of them.
"I can't believe Spike got her drunk," Buffy sighed, no doubt with a frown or a scowl. Kat couldn't see with her eyes closed as she started to drift off ever so slightly.
"Spike didn't. I got myself drunk. Spike just provided witty entertainment and eye candy," she murmured tiredly against Xander's head with a smile. She felt him tense up and she had a feeling the pair exchanged glances.
"She's drunker than I thought," Xander grimaced. That was the last thing Kat heard before darkness consumed her swimming brain. The lulling motion of being on Xander's back pushing her over the edge as she passed out on him.