"I can sense it on you. You know you can tell me anything, Spike. I'm your best friend," Clem said amicably as they sat side by side at the bar.
"What a sorry state that is," Spike muttered to himself as he chugged his blood infused whisky. He heaved a large sigh before glancing at the demon. Might as well get it off his chest. He'd been dwelling on it all night. The Slayer had pinched her cousin for the night, leaving him alone. Felt like he'd lost his left arm. It was ridiculous but without her around he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. That's what led his brain down this path.
"I've been thinkin'... 'bout askin' Kat to move in with me," he admitted after a long moment. Clem's head whipped around so fast Spike was surprised he didn't snap his bloody neck.
"What? This is great!" He grinned, looking like he'd just got a ticket to go to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.
"Although…" he trailed off with a thoughtful look that made Spike tense a little.
"Although what?" He asked defensively.
Clem shook his head, glancing to the vampire sheepishly before he nodded to himself. Spike couldn't even pretend to know what was going on in his head. Demon was a bloody enigma.
"The crypt… it's not really… you know, human friendly. It's cold and dank. Not to mention how freezing it'll get in the winter. Don't get me wrong, I love what you've done with the place. And-And she probably loves staying there, with you and all… It's just… for a permanent thing, it's not really equipped for a human," Clem rambled nervously. Spike hummed, his fingers tracing the rim of his glass as he soaked in the words. He hadn't really thought about that if he was honest. It'd been so long since he'd been human, it was easy for him to forget all the little comforts they needed. And he didn't want her anything less than comfortable. Being a vampire made it difficult to find decent places to live. Somewhere where he couldn't burst into flames at a moment's notice. Somewhere quiet and out of way. He wasn't much for tradition or stereotypes but he had to admit, he did love his crypt. She was more important though. He'd be a liar if he said he hadn't had stupid fantasies about marrying her one day. Always the hopeless romantic. Wouldn't exactly be legal, with him being dead and all. But they could figure something out. He wanted things to move forward with them. Things had really started moving between them and he felt like they'd already made a lot of progress. Only felt logical to take the next step. Or at least see if she wanted to. She'd no doubt freak out at first. Wouldn't be Kat if she didn't. But he'd let her think about it, no pressure. When he seemed to do that she always came around in the end. She was like a wild bird, afraid of being caged. Not that he blamed her. She was his though and the idea of a future with her made a dopey smile grace his face. Maybe he had really gotten the girl in the end.
"I just don't get it. I've barely seen him, and when I have, he's been weird and evasive," Kat huffed as she shuffled her cards. She was sitting behind the counter of the shop, Willow on the other side as she allowed Kat to practice on her. The past few days had been weird. It wasn't like she expected her and Spike to be joined at the hip. He was typically around a lot though. But these past few days, she'd only seen him twice, both times less than ten minutes. When she'd asked him about it, he'd avoided it before scurrying off. She just didn't get it. She thought things were going well with them, thought he could tell her anything. Yet now he was keeping secrets and distancing himself and she didn't like it one bit.
"I'm sure he has his reasons," Willow murmured with a frown.
"Maybe he's just… losing interest," Kat shrugged, bitterness coating her tone. She should have known it would happen sooner or later. In what world would she be able to keep someone like Spike?
"Phooey!" Willow scoffed.
"Bless you," Kat muttered as she gave her a look.
"No. Phooey. Baloney… Crap!" The witch protested. "He's not losing interest in you, Kat. He's not that stupid. I can't pretend to know what goes on inside that bleached head of his, but I know enough to know that he has his reasons and it has nothing to do with him losing interest in you," she soothed, reaching out to squeeze Kat's hand. Before Kat could argue some more, the bell on the door chimed as it opened. Both girls glanced over and Kat tensed a little as she saw Spike stroll through the door. When she looked back at Willow, the red head gave her a cheeky smile before she hurried off.
Kat busied herself with putting her cards away as Spike sauntered right over to her.
"Surprised to see you here," she muttered before he could open his mouth.
"Not exactly the warm welcome I expected," he murmured warily as he looked at her.
"I don't give warm welcomes to sneaky… sneaks," she huffed as she stood up, moving around the counter to stuff her cards in her bag.
"We need to work on your insults, luv," he muttered amused. His smirk melted off his face when she gave him a harsh look.
"Have I done somethin' wrong?" He asked hesitantly.
"I don't know, Spike. Have you?" She asked blandly. He gave her a bewildered look and she rolled her eyes.
"I've barely seen you these past few days. It's whatever, you have a life outside of us. It's fine. But you're being so weird about it. You won't tell me where you've been, what you've been doing. If you're bored of me then at least just have the balls to tell me," she blurted with a frown.
"Bored…? You're being hysterical," he stated slowly, looking at her like she'd sprouted another head.
"Hysterical?" She asked flatly. His brows furrowed as he took a step closer to her.
"Look… I haven't told you 'cause I've been workin' on somethin'. Wanted to get it finished before I told you," he said softly.
"And are you gonna tell me now?" She asked. She really had no idea what the big deal was or what he was up to.
"No," he started, getting an icy look from her. "I'm gonna show you," he smirked, holding out his hand to her. She looked at it distrustfully for a moment before back to his face. She really wanted to know what had him acting so weird.
"This better be good," she relented with a huff. He grinned as she took his hand and grabbed her bag with the other.
They walked in the dark and Kat's confusion only got worse. She wasn't really sure where they'd be going but they ended up on a street just around the corner from her own house. She stayed silent right up until Spike led her up the path of one of the houses there.
"Spike! Who's house is this?" She hissed quietly, looking around like she expected all the lights to turn on and the occupants to start yelling. She tugged on his hand but he let her go, pulling out some keys from his pocket. He flashed her a mischievous grin before he unlocked the door and walked right in. She tilted her head as her mind scrambled to connect the dots.
"You don't need an invite, pet," he smirked teasingly as he watched her looking like she was trying to do quantum physics.
"You… you have a house?" She murmured incredulously, walking inside slowly.
"Fancied a change. Felt time for an upgrade. Small comforts and all that," he shrugged as he shut the door. She looked around in astonishment. The place was fully furnished and it was definitely an upgrade from the crypt. Instead of it being all furniture that was worn down and used, no doubt tossed out before Spike found it, it was all new. It didn't have many homey personal touches but it was all furnished and decorated black, white and reds. She shouldn't have been surprised. Or maybe she should have because she couldn't wrap her brain around the fact that Spike had an actual house.
"What…? How…?" She muttered, not able to form a coherent sentence as her eyes darted around. She knew Spike wasn't rolling in money. She had no idea how he'd managed to get such a nice house with all the furnishings.
"Know a realtor that's a demon. He owed me a favor, I cashed it in," he explained. She nodded as she walked over to a record player on a cupboard in the living area, touching it lightly.
"Who knew you had such good taste in decor?" She smirked playfully. She suddenly felt him grip her hips from behind, nipping her neck playfully.
"Cheeky," he grinned, making her smile. She turned around to face him but his hands stayed firmly on her hips.
"You like it?" He asked quietly. He looked almost hesitant and she wasn't sure why. This was his place, he shouldn't give a crap if she liked it or not.
"I love it," she smiled sincerely. She really did. Everything about it was elegant and cozy. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She melted into him, deciding that while the way he'd been acting was weird, she'd get over it. Although if she was honest she wasn't sure why he didn't just tell her. She would have helped him decorate or something.
"Come on, I'll give you the tour," he murmured when he moved away.
He took her around the house, showing her everything there was to see. He had thick curtains so he wouldn't turn to toast, his words not hers. The basement had a tunnel that led to the sewers so he could get around in the day. He'd made it vampire safe while still making it seem like an actual home and not a resting place for the dead. She felt happy for him to have something like this for himself. While she didn't mind the crypt, she didn't think even a vampire was completely happy there. It wasn't the same as a legit home. The whole house was blacks and white, touches of red thrown around. But when he led her to the bedroom, she was surprised to see it was all purple and black. The exact shade of purple that was her favorite color. She tried not to think too much into that. Maybe she'd just converted him to a purple person.
"Wow…" she breathed as she walked inside and looked around in awe. The bed was a large four poster bed, sheer black curtains around it making it look like it was right out of a fairy tale. The rest of the furniture was a dark solid wood and she almost felt like she'd stepped back in time. She once again felt his hands settle on her hips from behind as he nuzzled her neck.
"What'd you think?" He asked softly.
"It's beautiful," she murmured, smiling up at him as she turned around. He licked his lower lip, eyes darkening as his hands slid around to her ass.
"You know… it's customary to christen the bed," he gave her a predatory smirk that made her stomach clench.
"Well… since it's customary," she said softly.
The ferocity that his lips attacked hers made her feel lightheaded. They tore at each other's clothes as he backed her up to the bed. By the time they got there, they were completely naked already. He gently pushed her onto the bed on her back and it made her bounce a little.
"Silk sheets?" She snorted amused as he climbed on top of her. It trailed off into a moan as he gave her neck a sharp nip that sent a thrill right through her.
"Figured since you'll be spendin' most of your time in bed that you'd want the best," he quipped back, lavishing her neck with kisses and bites that made her squirm. She was about to retort with something about him being presumptuous but then he was pushing inside of her. She let out a loud moan that mixed with his. There was no foreplay or teasing. It was a pure and animalistic need that seemed to claw at both of them. He used one hand to brace himself on the bed as his other firmly gripped her jaw. He kissed her roughly, pounding into her at a pace that made her dizzy.
"I missed you," he groaned against her lips, growling when her nails sunk into the skin of his back. She missed him too but she couldn't tell him. She could do little else but lay there and moan like a bitch in heat. He started going at her so hard that the bed smacked against the wall and she could barely catch her breath between her gasps and moans.
She wrapped her legs around him, the angle had her taking him in deeper and he gasped against her lips as her back bowed. She felt like a string pulled taut, ready to snap at any moment. One of her hands snaked into his hair, tugging on it as she felt herself explode from the inside out. She was barely aware of Spike's desperate moans and curses as she felt like she'd gone to heaven. When she felt like her soul came back into her body, Spike gave one last thrust before he came with a loud guttural moan. He collapsed on top of her, his face in her neck as they both basked in their high.
"That was…" he trailed off, sounding exhausted. She hummed, unable to give him more than that in her current state. He placed a soft kiss to her neck before he pulled out of her, moving to lay beside her. She instinctively rolled on her side and snuggled into him as he wrapped an arm around her.
"My brains melted," she murmured tiredly. He chuckled as his hand traced circles on her back.
"I'll take that as a compliment," he smirked. She started to doze off when he spoke again.
"I gotta admit somethin'," he murmured, making her move a little so she could look at him.
"What?" She asked with a yawn.
"The reason I bought this place is 'cause… 'cause I was kinda hopin' you'd like to move in one day," he confessed hesitantly. She suddenly felt wide awake as she blinked at him for a moment.
"What?" She squeaked out. He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Doesn't have to be now. And if you never want to, that's fine too. I just… wanted us to have the option. I want that with you," he murmured.
"Please tell me you didn't buy this house just for me," she muttered warily. She wasn't sure what to think. While his offer made her happy and deep down she knew she wanted that, it was a big step.
"Wouldn't want you livin' in the crypt when it's not perfect for you," he shrugged simply, his fingers rubbing her scalp.
"Spike…" she frowned.
"I can't sit here and lie to you, pet. I wanted a place for the both of us, it's why I went lookin' for somewhere. But when I saw the place, I liked it. Not just for you or us, but me too. It's homey and a nice change of pace. Not had somewhere completely mine in a long time," he admitted. She didn't know what to say. It made her feel a little better that he hadn't gone through all this effort just for her, but she still felt unsure.
"Just… think about it?" He asked hesitantly. She felt that pang of guilt she often seemed to feel when it came to him. This was the second time he'd caught her off guard when she was sleepy after sex. He was starting to make a habit of it.
"I will," she nodded. She meant it too. She wouldn't just shoot it down. Not when she actually wanted to go along with it under all the fear. The only real thing that was making her hesitant was Dawn and Buffy. It was just the three of them now and it almost felt like she'd be abandoning them. She wasn't used to this feeling. It was uncomfortable. No matter how she felt about Spike, she couldn't just abandon her family that way. She wasn't sure what to do.