Spike watched as Buffy moved through the mall tethered by his hand as she bobbed and weaved through the crowd in front of him. This was not part of the plan, but things had gone awry far too quickly. The crates had gone unopened as Giles reeled from the impact of her carefully laid bomb. Apparently agreeing to fight for good in whatever limited capacity he still retained made him something of a curiosity. He had been afraid the watcher might pet him like a dog or check his teeth, but the man had found some restraint. Willow had failed to come, and, though it irked Buffy, he was relieved. The watcher had been more than enough for one day.
Giles loved his slayer like a daughter. Spike enjoyed watching him struggle with his warring instincts. He knew the man had researched the bond and wanted to know how they were progressing, but his paternal feelings kept him quiet. Spike grinned ruefully. They had spent the day fencing around delicate questions in a very English manner. It had been pleasant in its way.
Buffy had dragged him from their home as soon as the lowering sun permitted, her determination overwhelming his desire to stay away from the crowds. She had a goal. He could sense her determination. He felt her surge of satisfaction as she pulled him closer to her, reeling him in. She came to a halt and held out her free hand like a game show hostess. A grin split his face wide as he looked through the garish and colorful window displays into a mattress shop.
"They promise same day delivery." Buffy whispered knowing he would hear her even over the awful din of coalesced humanity. He bit back a chuckle at her shyness.
"Let's procure a bed then." Spike dropped a kiss to her cheek. Buffy giggled and glanced at him shyly as he spoke. "Something big, that won't squeak constantly."
He watched her pale and bite her lip. She was such a gentle thing, so shy, and then she was in turns aggressive and bold. He played his fingers through her curls to help her relax.
"This will be our bed. I want you to enjoy it. I want to do this right, Pet." Spike looked at all the people milling about them. "Buying a bed seems like an everyday thing, but it's still special."
"I want us to do this right, too." She looked up at him with wide green eyes and smiled. "Plus, sleeping on the floor sucks."
"I didn't mind so much. There is something soothing about bedding down in the wreckage of your past," Spike tilted his head.
"I just hope there's a comfy mattress in our future." Buffy blushed.
He smiled and rested his hand on her waist as they went into the store. He felt a flash of unease, but ignored it. Buffy seemed untroubled, and her instincts for survival were strong.
Riley Finn watched as his team dispersed through the crowd at the mall's food court. Blending in seemlessly, each man set off on the mission. They were observing the populace because their sensors had popped on an unusual pheromone marker. Cataloging and capturing new HST varieties was a big part of the job, but it was tedious. He detested masquerading as a college student. He'd rather be hunting the ones threatening the human population. The job required far more than he had expected when he'd been selected for this deployment. He pulled up his monitor and walked his route.
There had been no blips on his equipment, not even a slight uptake in measurable activity when he spotted her, blonde hair curling and golden even in the awful interior lighting. An evening spent at the mall suddenly seemed less dreary.
Buffy was just about the ideal girl, a little strange, but so pretty and nice. He'd thought about asking her out, thought about more truth be told. She might be off the market, but there wasn't any harm in looking. He leaned against the rail behind him and watched as she sat and bounced on one mattress, chatting to someone blocked by the sign in the store window.
He saw her quick smile and animation as she talked, laughing up at her companion. He imagined watching her eyes light for him. It was too bad she was going to marry some guy with a stupid name. He snorted, probably bad news. Girls like Buffy often fell for types that needed fixing then spent years getting broken. Some of the crap psychology they forced him to peddle was useful. He leaned a bit to the side to keep her in view as she sprang up and held out her hand.
Disappointment filled him as a pale, long fingered, male hand entwined with hers. He had hoped in some way that she had been pulling some crazy stunt trying to get into a sorority or something, but she was walking out of a mattress shop hand in hand with her intended. His eyes tracked up her companion and he felt his jaw drop. She was strolling out of the store holding hands with Hostile 17.
His breath caught and he fought the urge to attack. There were civilians present. The protocol was to observe and report. He stilled his breathing and watched as the girl of his dreams cuddled up to his worst nightmare. They moved through the crowd quickly with Buffy flitting toward the windows and dragging the vampire along. They had almost made it to an exit when Hostile 17 stilled.
He saw Forrest spot them from the level below and groaned. There was no way to help Buffy without dragging her in for study now. Walsh would have to be informed of the unique relationship the girl had formed with the HST. There would be questions and tests. A clean kill for the monster would be out of the question. He waved off the other man, signaling with quick darts of the hand. He turned back to the duo, observing their unique behaviors with an eye toward the lengthy report he would be filing.
Riley held his breath as he watched the pair. Buffy spun around looking up at the animated corpse with a questioning smile. The thing traced a finger along her cheek. She blushed and curled under the escapee's arm. She shook her head as her companion pulled her along with him.
"What is going on, Spike?" Buffy asked as he grinned at her. "We need to get home to be there for the delivery."
"This shouldn't take long." He twisted one of her curls around his finger.
"Don't complain about my window shopping if we are stopping for you, too." Buffy stuck her tongue out at him.
"Mind your tongue or I might bite it." He growled playfully. She grinned and bumped her shoulder into his side in a show of easy camaraderie
"Save the sweet talk for later," Buffy said. "Did you see that Farnloff demon? I was impressed with the disguise."
"They do a good job passing, harmless things for the most part. Knew a group in Venice. They made lovely masks."
"They're territorial. Sunnydale has an established colony, so I've never had too much trouble with them. They get a little cranky when their queen is nesting, kill off a few stray demons for me." She shrugged.
"Most slayers would kill them off on principle." Spike glanced down at her as they neared his destination.
"I'm not most slayers," Buffy grinned.
"Here we are then." Spike pulled her close and turned into a jewelry store. He watched her eyes go wide. "I did promise to get you something fitting."
"I thought we were here for necessities," Buffy beamed as he took her to the counter. "This doesn't seem like something we need."
"Bits and baubles have their place. A proper ring should grace your hand." Spike's voice mellowed.
"Be careful," Buffy chided. "Your culture is showing."
"Would you mind if we looked at some of the older pieces first?" He felt her amusement flare, but smiled when she reigned it in. "I want something unique for you."
Buffy looked at him as little bits of the man he had been struggled with the monster he had become. She touched his chest and smiled as she felt his breath coming and going in synchronicity with hers. His hand covered hers and pressed her hand to his chest more tightly.
The clerk looked meaningfully at the security guard at the front of the store as she took in the young couple starring into each other's eyes. They were not the desired clientele of this shop, stunning as they were. She sneered. They would do better at a pawn shop.
Buffy smiled when Spike moved off toward the glass cases. She trailed behind still fighting the sense of unease she'd felt since they'd left the mattress shop. She caught the security guard shifting positions behind them and bit back a laugh.
Spike looked at the estate section and found the ring immediately. It was perfect. The three stones set securely within the metal, nothing to catch her up in a fight. The metal had been worked to appear as tiny flowers surrounding the green flash of the emeralds. It was a ring for Buffy and no other.
"I'd like to see that one." He pointed at the ring and waited for the snooty young woman behind the desk to comply.
"That ring has real emeralds, sir."
"I wasn't asking for it thinking they were glass." He smiled and felt a flicker of annoyance for the uppity shop girl.
She pulled it from the case reluctantly, her body language screaming at him. He felt the predatory urges rise. This was the kind of human he found unappealing, easy to kill. Buffy frowned up at him and he shrugged in apology. Before reaching for her hand.
He carefully removed the skull ring from her finger and slid it back in place on his own hand.
"Is this another one of those things we only get to do once?" Buffy asked softly as he knelt before her.
"No, I imagine this is one of those things we can do as often as we like." He kissed her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. "It's French, if I hit my mark."
"Art Nouveau from the early 1900's." The clerk watched as the couple stood, lost in each other. "I'm afraid we'll need it back, now."
"No, we will take it." Spike pulled the black plastic card from within his wallet. Angelus had met his obligations well. The clerk blushed as she stared at the card. Buffy looked at him. "See if you can find something for your mum in the cases over there, Pet. A set of pearls or something she might fancy more."
"Why?" Buffy looked at him tilting her head slightly.
"Her birthday is coming soon. We'll be handing her enough shocks. Might want to sweeten her up a bit." He grinned as Buffy bounded across the store and Drusilla's happy song rose to a caterwauling crescendo.
"Whatever she picks, the ring and the set it was pulled from." He smiled as the clerk flew to do his bidding. In some arenas, money was the only power one needed.
He closed his eyes and listened to Dru. It was her singing that had led him here, helped him find the perfect ring and all the rest. She was such a contradiction. Her voice softened over the link and he felt a warm rush of affection for his sire. She had helped him purchase the matching pieces in secret with her screeching.
Buffy felt relief wash through her as Dru's voice retreated from her mind. It was getting easier to deal with, but the vampiress had some pretty awful timing. She clenched the case in front of her and spotted a simple ring, like a signet ring set with a stone and no symbol. The blue so closely matched Spike's eyes, it was perfect. She looked at her lovely ring and thought of sliding a band on his finger. The image was alluring.
The annoying clerk had turned obsequious at the flash of their new financial might. Buffy grinned. Giles always told her that to use the correct weapon well was better than beating your head against a wall.
"I need that ring," she pointed disdaining all niceties. "I want it engraved. The words Mine to Hold." The clerk nodded and scribbled the instructions. "I'll be here Monday to pick it up. Is that enough time?"
"Yes, Miss.
"Good. Add a pair of those coral colored pearl earings to today's bag. Wrap them nicely, please." Buffy felt Spike come up behind her. She leaned back against him as he wrapped his arms around her middle. Her hands came to rest on his. She wanted get home. The giant house was already home. No real furniture to speak of, but she felt secure there, at peace. She tilted her neck to the side and Spike kissed her throat gently. She closed her eyes and let the cool touch ignite something deep inside her.
"Isn't that the girl you were panting after?" Forrest asked as he joined Riley at the railing of the walkway across from the jewelry store.
"Yeah." Riley said trying to moderate his response. It wouldn't do to let the others know how far gone he had been.
"Is she an HST?"
"Not that I can tell. Her body shows as normal human on the scanner. She comes to class during the day. The girl lives in the dorms." Riley shrugged to cover his growing anger.
"So, a sympathizer then. Too bad, man."
"Yeah." Riley said again.