A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and sorry for the delay in updating. I hope you guys haven't forgotten about my story!!! 3

Fool Me Once
Chapter 7

It was a while before Buffy headed back downstairs. She found Spike sprawled out in one of their armchairs and sipping from a mug of dark liquid. Upon her questioning gaze, he simply said, "It's not blood, it's hot chocolate."

"Oh." Buffy walked over to the couch across from the vampire's seat and let herself collapse onto the soft cushions, neither one making any attempt at small talk. After the ordeal of the evening, a few minutes of quiet were entirely welcome. Spike obviously hadn't expected that much action upon paying her a visit, and although she knew he didn't mind in the least the fight with the demon, having Riley walking in on them in such a strange moment was… well, it wasn't exactly the most comforting thought knowing that you were pretty much guaranteed to be a punching bag if one so wished.

"How's the Bit?"

Spike's query was a welcome interruption of her thoughts. "As of now, sleeping," Buffy replied. She paused for a moment, as if to compose herself, then continued. "She was pretty freaked out."

"And your mum?" The slight quirk of her eyebrows when she looked away was enough to tell him what he needed to know. "Rather spooked herself, then?"

"Big time," Buffy replied, raising her arms above her head and stretching. Suddenly, she looked back to the vampire, her eyes shining with a familiar brightness—it was that look that she wore when she had put her mind to work, was determined to do something that she didn't think she had the capability to do. Taking a deep breath, the young woman spoke. "Spike, what happened before?"

"Before when?" An immature tactic, but feigning idiocy was safer than jumping to conclusions and finding himself staked right and proper. To tell the truth, his mind had been going crazy the entire time Buffy had been upstairs, but he had never let it wander to the particular occurrence in the kitchen. Trying to figure out what Riley was up to was much safer than questioning the moment that the two had shared.

She saw his discomfort but wasn't about to let him evade this question. It had been subtly growing since the dream, but there was something between her and Spike, and she needed to know what it was. Opting for blunt and to-the-point, Buffy said, "Don't play stupid, Spike. You know when."

He let out a slight chuckle, and then nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He sighed and nervously drummed his fingers against his leg, looking up at her suddenly. "Do you mind if we go outside, pet?" A pack of cigarettes was revealed as to show his intentions, and she wordlessly led him out the back door, shutting it behind them as silently as possible. Spike pulled out a cigarette and lit it swiftly, taking several drags before turning back to the silently waiting Slayer. "What do you want to know?"

The question surprised her; she didn't really know exactly what she did want. "I guess we could start by you saying why you're here."

"Saw you leaving the hospital and stopped by on a whim to see Joyce." The answer was reasonable, but she felt that there was something more. Deciding not to press him for information he didn't want to reveal, Buffy simply nodded. "Anything else?"

Spike's manner was surprisingly guarded and evasive. After the friendliness and closeness that they had shared the past week, it was hard to understand just what had made him change his demeanor. Deciding on being blunt, Buffy asked, "Do you have a problem or something?"

"What?" His voice was incredulous and the façade dropped immediately. "Buffy, love, why would you think that?"

"Well you're making with all the Big Bad… rudeness, and I was just wondering whether I did something to… ugh!" She was suddenly pacing wildly and running her hands through her long blonde locks of hair. "Spike, why are we sitting out here talking to each other? Why am I not staking you like I should be?"

The vampire quirked a scarred eyebrow. "Is that a rhetorical question, or is my unlife on the line here if I answer wrong?"

"I'm being serious!" Buffy countered, her voice reaching a higher octave and her restless moving about increasing. "Spike, you're a vampire. I'm the Slayer. Why is there more between us than there should be?"

Spike scoffed, flicking his cigarette to the side and jumping up to sit on the railing of her porch. "You can't be about to say that I'm the only vampire that you've let live, because I happen to know of a great big ponce who's still carting his big forehead about LA."

"Angel was different. He had a soul. But you don't—there's nothing about you that makes you any different—"

"I'm no different?" The Slayer's words were making him angry. How could she talk about him like he was a random fledgling vamp? He knew for a fact that he was one of the only vampires that she had ever truly feared. And not only that… "Pet, can you honestly say that you think of me as just another vampire?"

"No." Again, there was no hesitation in her response, but when she continued talking, her voice was smaller than it had been the whole night. "And that's what's been such a…"

"Revelation."

"Yeah." Buffy leaned herself against the railing next to Spike and stared at her shoes for a few moments before speaking again. "Thanks for the… comfort, Spike. And for the help with the demon." She hastily added the last part, attempting to cover up the vulnerability in her voice but unable to hide it from the vampire.

"It was no problem, love," he answered honestly, hesitating for a moment and then placing his arm around her shoulders in a gesture reminiscent of their previous encounter on her back porch. Involuntarily, she leaned against his shoulder, breathing in the rich scent of leather and cigarettes. For how long they stayed like that, she didn't know, but after a good period of time passed she couldn't stay away from her responsibility any longer.

"I should probably head back inside," she forced herself to say, lifting her head from his shoulder and moving to stand before him.

"If you need anything…" He trailed off, unsure of how she would receive his offer of help; fortunately, he didn't meet the pointy end of a stake, when she simply smiled and nodded at him. "Well…"

Buffy hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Good-night, Spike," she said to the stunned vampire, and then turned and walked inside, her heart pounding and lips burning from the strangely comfortable act of affection she had just shown him.