A/N: Just for anyone that might be interested because I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this. But the name of this story is from a song by the same name by Against The Current.
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Kat's knees ached as she looked at the sachets of herbs on the shelf, bending down so she was able to see them. Willow needed them for a spell to banish the demon of the week. Agrimony, Dill and Orris root. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled up but she didn't stop looking through the various packets of herbs.
"You're staring at my ass, aren't you?" She asked knowingly, an amused smile on her face. She heard him chuckle at the same time she spied the packets she needed. She grabbed them and stood up, double checking the labels.
"Can't blame a bloke, can you? Walks in to a sight like this, course he's gonna stare," Spike smirked. His hands settled on her hips as he stood behind her and she felt her whole body heat up at the contact. It had been almost a week since she'd kissed him at his place and things had shifted with them. More little touches, hand holding and a hell of a lot more kisses. A barrier had been lifted and now personal space didn't exist with the pair of them.
She looked over her shoulder at him and he gave her a grin.
"Hi," she murmured softly. She'd seen him the day before yet she missed him when he wasn't around.
"Hi," he smirked back, one of his hands moving to grip her jaw as he placed a firm kiss to her lips. As it seemed to do lately, the kiss turned heated quite quickly. Her hormones had been doing a number on her and she found herself wanting to jump his bones over everything he did. They hadn't taken that leap yet and it was terrifying. She pulled away, only for the sheer need to breathe, and he gave her a cheeky grin that made her blush. She didn't need to ask to know he could pick up on her arousal. It was embarrassing that she couldn't keep it to herself.
His eyes drifted to the packets in her hands then as he stepped away.
"Magic?" He asked curiously.
"Yep. Willow and Buff need it for a spell. They need to banish some kinda demon. Kapok, Kapek… Kasomething, I don't know," she shrugged with a snort. They exited the basement together and her stomach flipped around on her as he laced his hand with her free one. No matter how many times he held her hand, the intimate gesture made her feel like a schoolgirl. It wasn't a secret that things had changed with them both. Dawn, Willow and Tara had been over enthusiastic about it, Buffy would constantly give her sly smiles when Spike was around, Xander didn't like it, Anya didn't really care and Giles was just downright uncomfortable.
"Here you go," Kat smiled as she handed Willow the herbs. She and Tara were sitting at the table, a big glass chalice in front of them. Buffy was perched atop the counter with Giles and Anya behind it. Xander was at the complete other side of the room munching on a bag of potato chips. Dawn was once again staying at a friend's. After Buffy died she ended up staying out a lot and she hadn't really got in the habit of being home all the time again.
"Thanks. Let's get banishing," Willow grinned as she opened the packets. Kat and Spike took a step back and she watched curiously as Willow started chanting something as she sprinkled the herbs together in the glass.
A loud boom made her jump and before she knew what was happening, the glass was shattering as the sharp shards went everywhere. Before any glass reached her, Spike was right in front of her, shielding her from them. He'd moved so fast she hadn't even seen it happen. Willow and Tara yelped, using magic to protect themselves and the others who were out of shard range, rushed over as a commotion broke out.
"My hero," Kat smiled at Spike amused.
"What I'm here for," he smirked teasingly. He leaned down to kiss her, a fire igniting inside of her. The kiss never landed though as Giles pointedly cleared his throat. She felt her cheeks flame red, practically forgetting they had an audience. Spike, however, gave Giles a large smug smirk. When he turned back to her, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, somewhat behaving for now.
As he moved away, she frowned.
"Your coat," she muttered, looking at the many shards meant for her face now embedded in the leather. He tried to glance behind him, shimmying out of his coat so he could see.
"Better my coat than your bloody face, pet," he murmured, giving her a soft look before he started to pull the glass from his duster.
"I don't get what happened. That should have worked. We have the Chalice of Demina, the herbs…" Willow trailed off confused with a frown on her face.
"Maybe Kat got the wrong herbs," Xander muttered petulantly.
"Excuse me?" Kat scoffed as she squinted at him. She would have asked him what his problem was but she knew damn well what it was. It was the attractive bleach blonde next to her.
"You're not exactly thinking straight. All you do is make moon eyes at Captain Peroxide over there, or make out with him. Your head's not in the game," Xander shrugged like a child not getting his own way.
"Talk to her like that again and your head will be up your arse, mate," Spike growled as he took a looming step towards Xander. Maybe she should have said something about him threatening her friend. But when the friend in question was being an insufferable dickwad, she couldn't find it in her to do so. She did, however, grab Spike's arm. Even if he couldn't do anything bad with the chip in his head.
Spike stopped and looked at her and she felt a wave of arousal shoot right through her. Was he always this alluring when he was angry? Or was it the added effect of the fact he was defending her? Or maybe she was just being a horny bitch. She couldn't really tell. He quirked a brow, a slow smirk painting his lips and she knew he knew exactly what was going on in her head. He no doubt could smell it on her which if she really thought about it, was kind of creepy.
"It's not the herbs. They're all the right ones," Willow explained, breaking Kat and Spike out of their trance.
"Could it be the cup thingy?" Buffy asked with a frown, looking down at the many pieces. Giles, who had retrieved a broom to sweep up the shards, glanced at the pieces too.
"Where did you say you procured this from, Anya?" He asked, pushing his glasses up his nose as he looked at her. She stopped counting the money and looked up at him.
"Ebay! It has quite a lot of occult artifacts at discounted prices!" She grinned, as if she was shooting a commercial.
"Ebay? We needed the Chalice of Demina and you thought Ebay was the best place to get one?" Giles asked in contempt.
"They said it was 100% authentic," Anya muttered with a frown.
"Oh right then, best believe what some sod on the Internet said. Swell idea. While you're at it, keep an eye out for the Nigerian Prince that wants to give you a load of money," Spike mocked.
"He wants to give me money?" Anya asked as her face lit up.
"Leave her out of this," Xander griped angrily, making Kat roll her eyes.
"It's her fault, you bloody dimwit! You're over here havin' a go at Kat just 'cause you got your knickers in a twist and it's your bird that's the issue," Spike retorted.
"Look! This isn't helping. Will, do you think it was the chalice?" Buffy piped up, shooting both Xander and Spike a dirty look. It amused Kat though that the worst look seemed to be directed at Xander. Willow sighed, resting her cheek on her hand as she sadly looked at what was left of the cup. Tara picked up one of the many pieces and inspected it, holding it up to the light.
"We d-did say we expected it to feel more… magicky," Tara murmured thoughtfully.
"Wait… so I got a fake?" Anya asked, looking forlorn. Kat felt bad. She didn't have any issues with Anya. Her issue was with Xander and his stupid attitude.
"It's not your fault," Kat said softly.
"Course it ain't, she-" Spike started, his mouth closing abruptly when Kat gave him a look. He sighed and looked back at the ex-demon.
"Anyone would have made the mistake. Internet's full of scams like that. Gotta be more careful," he drawled, clearly not what he'd been planning on saying. She reached out a hand and laced it with his, squeezing it to show her appreciation. When he looked at her, he gave her a small smile.
"Alright, well there's nothing else we can do until we get the real chalice. I'll make some calls and let you know when we can try again," Giles spoke up.
"Is that your way of asking us to go home?" Buffy snorted. Giles chuckled as he took off his glasses and cleaned them.
"Politely. Before you ruin my store," he grinned. Everyone filed out and said their goodnights to each other, going their separate ways. Spike tagged along with Buffy and Kat and it was only mildly awkward.
"Alright, I'm sure the Slayer can keep you safe from here," Spike murmured when they got half way there.
"You're damn right I will," Buffy said firmly, making Kat snort.
"See you tomorrow?" Spike asked, even though they both knew the answer.
"Yeah," Kat replied softly. He leaned in and kissed her gently and she felt herself melt into a puddle all over again. When he broke away, he gave her a soft smile before he turned around.
When Kat looked back at Buffy, she had a shit eating grin on her face.
"You're so creepy," Kat huffed playfully, making the blonde laugh.
"I can't help it. I never thought I'd say this, but you two are adorable!" Buffy sang, linking her arm with Kat's.
"Stop," Kat groaned as Buffy grinned. They fell into silence for a moment as they walked but Buffy kept glancing at her.
"Okay, spill it," Buffy demanded after looking at her for the millionth time.
"Spill what?" Kat asked, confused.
"You've got that look on your face. Your thinking look. You know you can tell me anything," Buffy gave her a reassuring look and Kat blew out a breath.
"So… lately… I've been thinking about, you know… taking the next step with Spike," she murmured as her cheeks heated up. It felt weird talking about it with Buffy.
"Oh! You mean-" Buffy started.
"Yes, Buffy. Sex. I mean sex," Kat grumbled as she snorted at her own embarrassment.
"I kinda already thought you'd been there. The chemistry between you two is off the charts," Buffy giggled.
"We've been taking it kind of slow. Okay, really slow, you know this. But now, everything he does just…" she trailed off with a frustrated huff
"Makes you turn to jello? Sets you on fire from the inside out?" Buffy asked knowingly.
"Exactly," Kat pouted.
"And is there a reason why you've not taken the leap yet? It's not like you've never had sex before," Buffy asked curiously, glancing at her.
"I guess I'm just scared. Of how it might change things with us. It took me so long to really let him in, and now he is and things are really good. What if it messes things up?" Kat asked with a frown.
"It's natural to worry about things changing. And things will change in a way, but it doesn't mean it'll be bad. You both care about each other, that much is obvious. And you can't outrun your fate. You never know, now he has a soul, he could be your full soulmate now," Buffy murmured thoughtfully. The words caught Kat off guard.
"What?" She squeaked out.
"Well, you guys were kinda soulmates but not quite because Spike had no soul. But now he does. Maybe now the connection's gone full throttle," she suggested with a shrug. Kat hadn't even thought of that, it hadn't occurred to her at all. But instead of hopeful thoughts like Buffy's, she found more depressing ones taking root in her mind. Ones like how Spike getting resouled may have messed up their connection. What if they weren't even connected now at all? What if his soul now belonged to someone else?
Her treacherous thoughts were cut off when they got home and they both made their way inside.
"Obviously, I think you should only do things if you're ready. But it sounds like you might be ready, so just think about it. You don't have to fight your feelings because you're scared. If you want it, go for it," Buffy assured.
"Thanks," Kat murmured, still haunted by her new realization.
"Goodnight, Kat," she smiled at her.
"Night," she replied, watching as Buffy jogged up the stairs. There was only one way to know for sure if Spike was still connected to her. It scared her. What if she found out they weren't connected. They still clearly cared about each other but would she be able to ignore the fact he'd be fated for someone else? Someone who could turn up at any moment and take him away from her? But she also knew she couldn't sit here and wonder either. It would eat her alive and she knew he'd be able to tell something was wrong. She had to find out, even if the answer wouldn't be what she wanted to hear.