Chapter Eight
Buffy slid her hand from Spike's cheek, to the back of his head. She pulled him in as close as she could as his hand rested on her hip. Their tongue twirling came to an abrupt halt when the sound of footsteps made them remember two other people were in the house. They pulled apart as if there was a sudden magnetic force and sat on their cushions, lightly panting. They looked up at each other, as if confirming that it was a great make-out session but then turned their gaze away.
Joyce and Giles made their way downstairs. "Hey you two, would you like something to- oh my goodness." Joyce put her hand to her mouth when she noticed Spike was half naked under the blanket that was now resting around his legs.
"Spike, where is your shirt?" Giles asked.
"It kinda got soaked running to the house."
"Buffy, you didn't offer him a shirt?" Joyce asked, questioning her daughter's manners.
"He wouldn't fit in anything of mine and he didn't want to wear your robe."
"Well I have a sweatshirt he may fit in. It's in my closet. Why don't you go retrieve it while I make us something to eat."
"No thanks. I'm not hungry." Buffy answered.
"Spike?" Joyce asked him, keeping her eyes on his face and not his non-legal chest.
"No thanks Mrs. Summers," Spike confirmed, acting like he hadn't just had his tongue in her daughter's mouth. "I will take that sweatshirt though."
"Buffy, why don't you go get that. Rupert, would you like something to eat?"
"Actually I am a bit peckish." Giles stepped aside as if telling her to the lead the way, considering he hadn't a clue where anything was. And the lack of light made it impossible for him to guess.
He was dressed in a suit Buffy had seen her father wear a few times. He had actually spilled coffee on it the last time he was in town and he didn't have time to run to a cleaner considering he was about to leave to go back to LA. Her mom offered to go clean it so the stain wouldn't set into his clothes. So her father grabbed a spare from his car and handed it off to Joyce.
"I'm gonna borrow a couple candles," Buffy's mom said. She took two of the bigger ones from the mantle and handed one to Giles, who was holding the flashlight.
Unfortunately this gave Spike and Buffy a chance to reflect on the situation that, although pleasant, was now awkward. Buffy was the first to speak. "Well that was…"
"Weird," Spike filled in.
"I was gonna go with interesting but ya know, way to bruise the ego."
"Oh no, not the kiss. I meant your mom seein' me half naked. The kiss was weird too, not in a bad way though."
"I'll be right back. Just stay here so my mom doesn't flip out and think we went to make out or something." Buffy turned to leave but then turned back. "Not that I meant… nevermind." She went up the stairs with a candle and came back down in a couple minutes. "Here ya go. Now, let's get back to the game. I mean, the questions in the game." Buffy picked up another card.
"You're gonna forget what just happened and read another stupid card?" Spike slipped on the gray sweatshirt that was a little snugger than he was used to but at least it wasn't clinging to him. It had the word 'Harvard' printed on it.
Buffy ignored him and read, "What culture would you like to know more about?"
"The culture of Buffy Summers."
"That's not a real answer."
"It's something completely foreign to me and currently makin' no bloody sense."
"Well too bloody bad."
"Are you always this off your rocker?"
"Are you always this British?" Buffy argued.
"You two all right?" Joyce asked, walking into the room.
"Fine Mrs. Summers. I was just asking Buffy if she would show me where the bathroom is."
"You know where it is," Buffy said.
"Well now it's dark."
"It doesn't move."
"Buffy, just show him where the bathroom is," Joyce pushed. "Oh, how does the shirt fit?"
"Very well Mrs. Summers. Thank you."
Buffy rolled her eyes and rose from her cushion. She grabbed a candle from the mantle and silently walked to the stairs. Joyce returned to the kitchen and Spike followed Buffy. She held her hand out as if presenting it on a game show. "One bathroom."
"Thank you." Spike walked in but grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her in too.
"Hey, candle. Candle," Buffy said, hoping it wouldn't spill its wax on her hand. "What the hell are you doing? There is hot wax in my hand."
"I'm talkin' to ya without our bloody parents playin' twenty questions."
"So you pull me into a bathroom?"
"Why can't you admit there's something goin' on between us?"
"Because we hate each other."
"Not so much now."
Buffy tried rationalizing it. "Maybe it's just this project. We have Melanie and we're acting like parents and we're just getting too into the mind of it or something."
"Did you hear how ridiculous that sounded?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.
"So you want to willingly follow this primal instinct?"
"I don't know what it's like in your culture but humans do tend to pursue pleasure."
"Now you're pursuing?"
"Well ya ain't exactly makin' it easy Summers."
"I'm sorry, but having this seething hatred for you suddenly go away with the brush of your lips against mine, is a little freaky. I feel like I'm in the dark." Spike looked around them. "Metaphorical dark."
"That's part of the fun."
"Fun? It's fun not understanding what's going on? Ignorance really is bliss with you isn't it?"
"It's not ignorance, it's livin'. You don't know what's gonna happen next and things like this happen."
"Just because it happens that doesn't mean I have to accept it."
"Ya telling me ya didn't enjoy makin' out with me?"
"No."
"No you didn't like it or no you won't tell me."
"No, I didn't like it."
"That's a bunch of bullox."
"Not every girl on this planet wants to be with you Spike."
"And not every girl sticks her tongue in my mouth and pulls me in closer for a kiss."
"That… was a reflex."
"A reflex?"
"That's what I'm going with."
Spike moved in, placed both hands on her face and moved in for another kiss. Buffy's hand started moving to his head but she quickly caught herself and pulled away. "Some reflex."
"You can't just go around kissing people like that!"
"You're pretty upset for someone who hates me."
"Buffy, my granddaughter is crying," Joyce announced.
"See, things like that keep happening and stop us from kissing. It's a sign that we shouldn't be doing it."
"Now you believe in signs."
"Excuse me but my daughter's crying." Buffy pushed past Spike and went downstairs. Spike exhaled his anger and followed her. "Hey Melanie," she said lightly. Buffy carefully lifted her out of her carrier and fed her the bottle. "There ya go. There ya go."
"Buffy these things are programmed, it isn't goin' off 'cause we're snoggin'."
"But it just coincidentally does?" Spike rolled his eyes. "Look, this is the fourth time now," Buffy held up the number with her fingers as if he hadn't known, "and things keep happening to stop it."
"The first two I did on my own and nothin' stopped us."
"Our now-dissipated hatred had. Now that we want to, things have been stopping us."
"So now you want to kiss me?"
"No," Buffy quickly replied. "I meant… I just… Shut up."
Joyce and Rupert walked out of the kitchen, each holding a glass of something. They claimed it was juice but Buffy and Spike suspected differently. "Everything all right?" Joyce asked, gently placing her candle on the table.
"Fine." Buffy returned Melanie to her carrier and took a seat beside her mother.
"How is she?" Giles asked.
"Still not a real girl," Spike answered, taking a secret glance at Buffy.
She sneered at his strategically placed look. "Well ya know, she's just unhappy with the current situation."
"Really. I was under the impression that she was. I mean she seems so willing when things happen."
"Yeah well maybe it takes her off guard and she isn't able to think."
"Or maybe she is and she just isn't ownin' up to it."
"There's nothing to own up to."
"Are you completely blind Summers?"
"Are you completely aggressive Giles?" Buffy asked Spike.
"It's just a doll," Joyce said, her and Giles oblivious to the underlying argument. "I think it's willing to do anything. Except be quiet when you ask it to."
"Guess that makes them more like real children," Giles replied. He and Joyce shared a laugh while their children shared angry stares.
"Uh, Buffy will you come help me in the kitchen for a minute?"
"Sure." Buffy got up and followed her mother and the dim light source she carried.
"All right, what is going on with you two?" she asked in whisper.
"What do you mean?"
"When I first entered the house you two seemed fine but now you're arguing about whether a doll willingly or unwillingly does something. I know I'm not exactly Sherlock Holmes but even a Sunnydale police officer could see something is going on with you two."
"Sunnydale police officer? Good one mom," Buffy congratulated.
"Thank you and no getting off the topic."
"He's just aggravating me. He kissed me when I didn't ask him too and now he's turning it into a big thing."
"He kissed you?"
"A couple times. Four to be exact."
"Four. My he's persistent."
"But that's the thing, I don't want to be pursued. Really, I'm happy with being pursue-less."
"Did you tell him that?"
"Yes, but he keeps pushing and telling me I like him and I'm just saying I don't like him because I don't want to say I like him since I would be admitting that the philosophy of not liking him for the past decade and a half is no longer of the disliking persuasion."
Joyce looked at her daughter with her mouth open and her eyes emotionless. "I'm sorry honey, I don't speak teenager. You lost me at 'yes.'"
"He's saying I just don't want to admit I like him."
"Do you like him?"
"Mom?" she exclaimed in a whisper.
"Buffy."
"Mom."
"Buffy," Joyce repeated. Buffy exhaled and turned her back to her mother. She folded her arms and looked into the living room, or as it was now, the darkness. Joyce walked over to her and put her right hand on Buffy's back, between her shoulder blades. "I think you should really think about it. You may just feel pressured right now but you seem to be resisting your want to say 'no' because that isn't how you feel."
"So now you're on his side?"
"No. I'm always on your side." Joyce moved behind Buffy, wrapped her arms around her stomach and rested her chin on her daughters shoulder. Buffy leaned her head against her mother's. "What're you thinking now?"
"I'm thinking… I could really use a drink."
Joyce let out a small chuckle. "Are you 21?"
"I'm in the privacy of my own home," Buffy answered.
Meanwhile, once Joyce and Buffy had left the room Giles had begun questioning Spike. "What's going on?"
"What?"
"You and Buffy seem to have a little tension between the two of you."
Spike shook his head. "Nope. No idea where you're gettin' that from."
"Maybe I picked up a little something from your rejoinder rally before."
"Rejoinder rally? Dad, you really need to update your dictionary, or downgrade as it were, so you don't sound so… British."
"I would like my son to tell me what's going on between him and his Health partner."
"Well maybe he doesn't even know." Spike walked over to the fireplace and laid his arm on top of the mantle. He rested his head against his arm and looked at the blackened cement and stone. "We kissed," he finally answered.
"Pardon?"
He stood straight and faced his father. "We kissed. Snogged. Mouth to mouth, in the non-drowning sense."
Giles slowly rose from his chair and said, "I thought you disliked her? You said she was 'dreadful' and 'a life sized Barbie doll complete with the hollow skull.'"
"I did."
"What happened?"
"Dad I'm not exactly comfortable talkin' 'bout this with you. Were not s'pose to bond by sittin' in someone else's house talkin' 'bout feelings."
"Could you not think so much for once Spike? That's all you do."
"When?"
"Every time we try to talk about something all you want to do is just sit and think instead of talk. Well, I would like to know what's going on in my son's life every once and awhile. Remember that." Giles returned to his seat and removed his glasses. He put his left fingers against his temples as if trying to rub away the tension.
Spike walked over to the couch and sat down. "I like her." Giles paused his rubbing and turned his eyes to Spike. "I don't know how or when it happened, but I like her."
Giles placed his glasses back on his nose and moved forward on his seat. "I've never heard you say this before."
"That's 'cause it's never happened before. Don't turn this into a Hallmark moment Dad."
Giles held back a tear of happiness. Spike never opened up this much to him. Actually he doesn't remember talking this much with him since he was fourteen and he wanted to try out for the Lacrosse team. "Thank you William- Spike," he quickly covered.
Spike rolled his eyes and stood up with his arms held out. "All right ya already started it let's have a quick hug and then pretend this never happened."
"We don't have to."
"Yes we do, now come on." Spike bent his fingers twice, gesturing for Giles to stand up. He did and gave him a quick hug, two pats, before parting. "Right then."