The hardest thing about being in love with Buffy was definitely her friends, of that Spike was sure. And none of them were as much of a thorn in his side as Xander and Giles. The women he would have been able to win over, eventually, but the men just wouldn't accept him as one of their own-and he couldn't blame them.
In hindsight, he knew he didn't deserve Buffy's affections when he was soulless. After what he had tried to do to Buffy… well he wasn't surprised that there were still hard feelings and mistrust. He knew he had much to atone for, including that incident, but so did Angel. Where Giles treated Angel with mutual-if grudging-respect, Spike was still treated as a nuisance.
Spike swung the door open and slammed it shut behind him, his leather coat flapping around his legs as he made long strides past the outside hallway and down the stairs. He used the flat of his foot to open the door at the bottom of the stairwell and leaned against the white brick wall. Sighing, he flicked open his Zippo and lit a cigarette, puffing on it hard and deep-feeling the hot air burn down into his lungs.
Nothing was good enough for Xander-and he had long ago dedicated his life to antagonizing the boy for his devout jealousy towards Buffy's exes-but he hadn't given up on winning the respect of Buffy's only remaining parental figure.
Spike tossed his cigarette on the ground, stubbed out the ember with the tip of his boot, and tapped another cigarette out of his pack when a taxi pulled up in front of him. A head of dark brown hair leaned forward in the seat suggestively to pay the cab driver before stepping out of the car.
Dressed in head-to-toe black-on-black, Faith planted her boots firmly on the ground in front of Spike and grinned, dark lipstick accentuating full lips and bright white teeth. "Can I bum a light?"
Spike cocked his head to the side and smiled, flicking his Zippo to life and holding the light to the tip of his new cigarette before lighting hers. "Well, well, well, isn't it my second favorite Slayer?"
"Second?" Faith pretended to pout, before bursting out into another grin. She leaned against wall near Spike, propping her heal against the rough brick. She took a drag off the cigarette and blew it out towards her feet. "I heard your favorite Slayer was in trouble."
Spike scuffed his boot on the ground and growled. "Yeah, some big apocalypse. Were you filled in?"
"A big snake, right? Champions for good?" She laughed, derisively. "Don't know why they think it's me. Not after everything I've done. I still have a lot to atone for."
"They're giving you another chance," Spike said, jealousy tinging his voice. "I wouldn't look a gift horse in the face, luv."
Faith grimaced and finished her cigarette in a final long drag, stubbed it out on the wall and tossed the butt to the ground. She exhaled through her nose with a sigh. "Time for me to make my entrance." She opened the door with a swish in her hips and walked through it. "You coming?" She tossed over her shoulder.
Begrudgingly, Spike tossed his cigarette to the ground and followed behind her.
Waking with a start, Buffy moaned, gripping the sheets as the orgasm rocked her body. Legs shaking, she wiped the sweat from her dewey forehead, her hair plastered to the sides of her face. She rubbed her thighs together, feeling the hot dampness dripping down her lips. She sighed and slowly relaxed her body, releasing her grip from the sheets and stretching her arms above her head. Her pebbled nipples strained against the thin cotton fabric of her shirt, causing her to moan again, softly. She laid like that for a few mins before there was a knock on the door to her room.
"Good morning, Buffy," Ma'at said through the door, polite enough to know not to enter before Buffy was ready.
"Good morning," Buffy replied, sitting up in bed and trying to make herself look respectable. She combed her fingers through her hair and hopped out of bed, her stomach growling at the smell of hot breakfast.
Ma'at entered the room, tray once again held in her elegant hands. She approached the table with delicate steps and stat down on the bench, her feet tucked neatly beneath her.
"I've been having dreams of you, of your life," Buffy realized, gently placing her feet on the ground and striding up to the table and sitting down across from the woman, looking intently into her face. "Who were you, in life? I know you were a Slayer, but it's more than that, isn't it?"
"I was the daughter of a noble family, and so was Isfet. My father was the head of the Children of Osiris and Isfet's father was the head of the Cult of Set. They never saw eye-to-eye and my father refused to allow Isfet to court me, afraid that I would become inducted to the cult of his father. Isfet was the only person besides my watcher that knew of my calling. Of course, we continued to see each other in secret. On the day of Isfet's 18th birthday, they inducted him into the Cult of Set, where he became a vampire."
"He knew you were the Slayer and he became a vampire anyway?" Buffy asked, bewildered.
"His father would have killed him," Ma'at said, sadly. "I wish things had been different, but wishing doesn't change anything." Ma'at's strong, regal shoulders shook slightly, as if she were holding in a great burden. Tears shone in her eyes and she turned her head away to discreetly wipe them away.
"What do you want with me?" Buffy asked quietly, hoping that in her moment of weakness, Ma'at would reveal her true colors, rather than the majestic veneer she always seemed be wearing.
"What the bad guys always want," Ma'at replied, her demeanor changing immediately. "To end the world."
