Spike heard a quiet rap at his door. Hoping it was Buffy, he turned off his T.V, made sure there were plenty of beer cans about, and ran a hand through his hair. Dragging on a cigarette rebelliously, he made his way to the door.
He pulled at the handle, and was about to miraclously accquire a low British drawl, when he felt a hand on his chest, and one, sharp nail draw a line down his back. Shivers swam up his spine, and he turned his head to see who had snuck up behind him.
"Who else?" came the seductive purr - not unlike the tone of voice was Spike was going for - almost reading his mind. "William the Bloody hiding from the night in his... charming crypt. It's almost adorable."
"Coquetta?" he asked, feeling the icy breath circle his earlobes, and he escaped the grasp of her china-white fingers to face her. "Blimey, haven't seen you since-"
"Praque," she replied, pressing a finger to his lips, and taking his hand, leading him down the stone steps into this crypt. "I was surprised not to see you with Dru in South America. Of course, she then explained about the chaos demon - you always have been the possessive type."
Spike stopped to protest, but Coquetta gestured for him to be quiet. "I've heard Sunnydale is a hell of a Hellmouth," she said with her tempting twang. "There's so much that can be done here. I mean, the Slayer's only a bug on the windshield in this car." She sat Spike down in his own armchair, and bent down to level her head with his, placing a hand on his knee. "Are we going to drive this thing together, Spike?"
"Now you think the Slayer's just a bug," started Spike. "But you'll soon find out she's more of a ... fox. She's sly, Coquetta."
"Drusilla was right," replied Coquetta, rolling her eyes and straightening. "You do smell of the Slayer. Her scent is all over you."
She began walking away, until Spike leapt up and grabbed a thin, slender hand, and tugged. "Listen," he whispered in her ear. "I'll help you with whatever you want with Sunnydale. But you're not getting out that easy. I want something back." Coquetta slung both her arms over his shoulders, and pouted flirtatiously.
"Of course," she said, enjoying Spike's piercing stare as she drew circles on his cheek. "I knew your services would come at a price. Something to eat - a gurgling baby with blood so fresh..." She watched Spike's mouth water. "Or a stoned party-hard student from UC Sunnydale?" Her eyes narrowed. "But not the Slayer, of course. Anyway, I have plans for her later."
"Not hungry today, pet," he said, shrugging her hands of his shoulders uneasily. "I need a favour any bint like you would be glad to do."
Coquetta bit her lip and giggled. "Oh William!" she crooned. "I'd be happy to make that Slayer churn-" and her hands wavered on the waistline of his jeans.
Spike raised an eyebrow, but shook his head.
"Not now," he warned her. "We'll save that for when the Slayer comes a'calling. Tell me all about your plans for Sunnydale. I'd wager any girl like you is sure to head straight for the Mayor."
"Read my mind exactly," she replied, pushing Spike into his armchair and sitting on his knee. "So if I get the Slayer jealous for you, you'll lead me straight to Mayor of Sunnydale. Because while you're my type, William, I don't have time for-"
"You just stick to your end of the bargain, I'll stick to mine," he agreed, and let Coquetta lay kisses on his neck.
"You know, you really shouldn't leave the door op - oh."
Spike spun around to see Buffy stood in the doorway, eyes glued to the dazzling form of Coquetta draped across his lap. He lifted the girl off easily, and ran to meet her.
"Buff!" he cried, and Buffy looked slightly uncomfortable, though she didn't move her gaze from the beauty behind him. "Just the girl I wanted to see."
Buffy raised an eyebrow, but Spike carried on.
"I want you to meet my new... uh...bird," he continued, and waited for Buffy's reaction as he elaborated. "Her name's Coquetta - and she's bleedin' gorgeous isn't she - don't you think, Buff?" he asked, eagerly. "She's South American. She wants to meet the new Mayor of Sunnydale."
Spike was regretting that last sentence as Buffy decided to lunge straight at Coquetta.
Oh, great. He was going to have to get involved in a bitch fight.
Wait, that didn't sound too bad.
But before he could get too excited, he saw that Coquetta had slid out of the way - Spike had almost forgotten about her shape-shifting powers before today - and Buffy was lying across the cold stone floor, fuming. She leapt up, in fighting stance - legs shoulder-width apart, fists curled, but Coqetta just laughed.
"Oh, Spike, she's just adorable!"
Spike saw Buffy turn red with anger, and she ran at Coquetta, dealing her a full-on punch in the face. Her neck snapped back, and Buffy looked pleased... until Coquetta lowered her chin, grinning.
"Spike!" shrieked Buffy, dodging Coquetta's retaliation. "Outside! Now!" And she spun around with a kick to Coquetta's head.
"Why?" asked Spike. "Surely anything you have to say to me you can say to my girl."
Buffy ground her teeth, and yelled: "Hello," she cried. "Demon about!"
"Well, yeah," said Spike, looking pleased. "Glad to see I'm still recognized as the Big Bad, and all that-"
"Not you!" she hissed, as Coquetta caught her jaw. With a lot of effort, Buffy flung the demon to the wall with an almighty thud. "Your... 'bird'."
"I don't why you're so bothered," replied Spike, walking nonchalantly over to Buffy, his jaw set. "Not with Angel about again."
Buffy frowned. "How did you know?"
"Oh please!" he cried. "I can smell the poncy gitface miles away."
"He's not a gitface," said Buffy, as she raised an arm to swing at Spike, but he caught her punch expertly. "Touch a nerve?"
Buffy fell silent, and Coquetta was quick enough to glide back into Spike's arms. She looked at Buffy with a smug smile; it was almost pitying. her perfect skin tone was unblemished by Buffy's attack, and her perfect rosebud lips met Spike with ease.
Not enjoying the kiss, however, Spike looked out from the corner of his eye for Buffy, who just stood there, tapping her foot impatiently. Though it might have been his imagination, he swore he saw just a hint of envious annoyance. He spoke up.
"You know what?" he asked. "I don't think Coquetta here is a demon. I think you just invented that by yourself, pet. And you know why? You're jealous-"
Spike's suggestion was met by a fist to his nose from Buffy, who promptly left, scooping her leather jacket from the back of Spike's armchair as she made her way out the door.
"Well," said Coquetta, as Spike tried to lick the blood from his nosebleed, hungrily. "I think that answered that question, don't you, William."
Spike relaxed his tongue, and let go of her. Strangely, he felt unsatisfied by the look of jealousy on Buffy's face. More than pleased, he felt guilty that he had upset her. Also, somewhere in that mix of emotion was pain. The bitch could always throw a bloody good punch.
"Trust Spike," said Angel, sinking into the sofa besides Buffy. "He just had to get involved."
"I know," replied Buffy, taking a sip of the mug of hot chocolate she had in her hand. She'd spent the last half an hour telling the whole Scooby gang about Spike and his new squeeze - though she left out the part about the twinge in her stomach when she witnessed the kiss. When she had finished though, it was late, so Angel offered to walk both Buffy and Dawn home, whilst Willow and Tara decided to stay at the Magic Box and research with Giles, and Xander and Anya wandered off in the opposite direction towards their apartment for some late-night "cooking".
"So what are we going to do?" Angel continued, awaking Buffy from reliving the past few hours. "I mean, I can get some people from L.A, but it would be better if we had people already here in Sunnydale - as we got some trouble with Wolfram and Hart-"
"Its OK," said Buffy, hurriedly. "I have an idea of who we can ask." She stifled a yawn.
"I'll let you get some rest now," said Angel, and he reached for his large coat. "I got some people to catch up with, anyway. Will I see you tomorrow?"
"Sure," answered Buffy, and after much hesitation, Angel leant down to kiss Buffy on the cheek. She flinched slightly, but saw him to the door. After locking up, she headed out of the kitchen, but not into her bedroom. Instead, she took a left into the dining room, and switched on the computer.
Because when it came to the words 'takeover bid' - which was what Coquetta was supposingly trying to do - only one person came to mind. And although it pained her to admit it - she'd rather be sired and then staked - she needed help. A flashback to a certain profile (Dislikes: Breadboxes, people who attempt world domination/apocalypses) brought reality crashing down onto Buffy's head.
She pulled up her email inbox, and clicked on "Compose". She typed into the address field - and the subject, then began her extremely, painfully awkward letter. After exhaling a lengthy sigh, Buffy began typing.
To William...
A/N I hope those of you who are giving this fic another chance enjoy this chapter - I made sure there was a jealous-Buffy, and explained more about Spike and Coquetta! If anybody doesn't understand, I'd rather explain either in a PM or another chapter than have you stop reading altogether. Please review!
Moondancing Millie