AU from Primeval, the story so far: As Buffy faces off with Adam, the spell is performed but the demons break through. Buffy gets distracted and tries to save her friends, but fails. Spike gets her out and they escape, parting ways. Years later they meet again, and travel together on their way to fight Adam in Washington and end the worldwide tyranny of the cyborgs. They meet a young couple who aide them in the fight and have an Oz travelling with them too. Having taken much needed rest and shelter in an abandoned house in Wilmington, Buffy and Spike shared an encounter that will no doubt change their relationship forever...
DISCLAIMER: All BTVS characters belong to Joss, I'm just borrowing them. Couple of OC's in there that are mine.
I-E-H
Buffy woke up slowly, her eyes taking a few moments to adjust to her surroundings and her mind catching up the events of the past few days. She'd been dreaming of a time she could never recover, being back in high school with her friends.
God she missed them so much. Now more than ever.
She ignored the tears that started to prick at the corner of her eyes and turned her attention to the fact that she was alone in the bed. She'd fallen asleep curled up in Spike's arms but now she was alone. Normally she would feel the usual abandonment that came after an encounter like they'd shared but somehow she knew Spike wouldn't be far. And besides, dragging herself out of the warm snuggly duvet she was wrapped in would take more willpower than she thought she could muster right now.
The door creaked open and the smell of cooking food wafted through. Her stomach rumbled and she groaned as her bladder decided to simultaneously argue with her decision to stay in bed. Oh, she didn't want to move.
Eventually she moved from underneath the cover, finding a bathrobe left on the nightstand for her and she smiled, knowing exactly who had left it. He might have once been an evil vampire, intent on ripping her heart from her chest, but right now, he was nothing but her saviour. The thought made her giggle and then she ran for the bathroom, her body telling her not to do so would be a mistake.
After freshening up and heading into the kitchen, she found Oz busy cooking something over the stove and the other two sat together munching on whatever culinary creation the werewolf had made. All three occupants smiled at the Slayer as she entered and she sat down, frowning at the lack of vampire in the room.
'Where's Spike?' She asked, as Oz dumped a plate of scrambled egg and sliced meat in front of her.
'He went for a walk.' Tiree said, with a mouthful of her breakfast.
Buffy looked at the girl in horror. 'It's daylight out!'
'Not so much. Still storming.' Oz said. Buffy relaxed visibly. She knew Spike well enough to know he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but she worried all the same. She looked down at the breakfast and frowned.
'Where did you get eggs and meat?' She asked, looking at Oz as she pushed her food around with a fork.
'You'd be surprised what they can make last longer. The eggs are dehydrated or something. And the meat is corned beef. Comes in tins and has the shelf life of a cockroach.' He smiled and sat down with his own plate.
Buffy was so hungry she didn't actually care, and she had to admit that the food was delicious. She'd been living on nothing for so long that to have a full stomach felt better than anything she could imagine at the moment. Except…well…that.
Tiree looked up as she finished her food. 'Spike looked better this morning. Did he find some animals?'
Buffy nearly choked and she stopped eating briefly. 'I dunno. He seemed okay. I guess.' She looked down as she continued eating, missing the knowing look that passed between Tiree and Ryan. Oz ignored the exchange and only looked up when the front door opened and a rather wet vampire trudged in.
'Up for a walk Slayer?' He asked as he walked in, shedding his wet clothes.
'I thought we were staying here a couple days? Or at least, until we aren't safe anymore.' She said, looking at him questioningly. He smiled.
'No, we're staying here a while longer. It's stopped raining though, and I just thought you'd like to see something.'
Buffy frowned, and looked at the rest of the group, who were still more interested in their food. She chewed her lip, thinking and then nodded. 'Okay then. If you're sure there's nothing around here that would pose a threat.'
'Not for a good few miles. Come on, finish your brekkie, get dressed and we'll head on out. I'm sure this lot can occupy themselves for the day.' Buffy watched him leave the room and then turned back to her breakfast, smiling to herself.
Funny, she seemed to be doing a lot of that recently.
I-E-H
'So where exactly are we going?' Buffy asked, thrusting her hands in her pockets. The fall weather was a little on the nippy side, and she had found a big unflattering coat to keep her warm on their little excursion. So far they'd been walking for about half an hour and she had no idea where they were going.
Spike turned his head to her and smiled. 'It's a surprise.'
'Just tell me it's somewhere dry.' Buffy said, pulling her coat tighter in the soft drizzle that had begun to plague them as they'd left the house. The vampire just tapped his nose and carried on walking. The Slayer sighed and following, wondering exactly what he had up his sleeve.
They turned a corner and headed for a big building, all shut up and seemingly run down. Abandoned cars littered the parking lot in front of it. Buffy frowned, surveying shattered windows and litter everywhere. Then she saw something that made her heart skip a beat.
'A mall? You're taking me shopping?'
Spike paused, wondering if this had been a good idea, until he found himself with an armful of Slayer. She was practically crying with joy and he grinned widely, pulling away and rubbing the back of his neck in a somewhat shy manner.
'Yeah well, I thought you could use a bit of time….not being the Slayer. Plus, don't have to pay for anything.' Buffy smiled up at him brightly and then thrust herself at him, kissing him hard on the lips before breaking away, and then sprinting towards the shops she'd missed so much.
He stood in shock for a few minutes before taking off after her.
When he caught up, she was staring into a display of mannequins, some of which were still standing. A red sweater hung off of one of the dolls, plain with long sleeves and a v cut neck. He certainly approved of the colour. Buffy's eyes had glazed over, like a vampire that had smelt blood and he could have sworn she was drooling. 'New clothes' she whispered, her eyes picking out items she would have worn to the Bronze once upon a time. He knew she would go for sensible clothes but it still wouldn't hurt for her to have some nice new stuff.
She whipped out of his sight again and he followed with a smile on his face, through the hole in another broken window. They found themselves in a department store and Spike found himself almost chuckling at the first thing she went for.
She was in the lingerie section.
'I haven't had new underwear in sooooo long' she shrieked, clapping her hands excitedly. 'A new bra would be like a dream to me'. He smiled and jumped up on top of a display to watch her as she ran around in excitement, picking out a few plain bits but also some more exciting stuff. He wondered briefly if she would model them for him, but thought better of asking – for the sake of his nose if anything. Then another thought struck him and when Buffy turned around, he had disappeared.
She called for him, wondering where on earth he had gone and then she spied something else to add to her growing pile of new clothes. She picked up the item in question and smiled. Plain black. That would work.
Spike reappeared a moment later and frowned at what she was holding.
'Why did you get those? We can find you some jammies if you'd rather-'
'They're for you, doofus.' She said, a sly smile on her face as she held up the plain black Calvin Klein boxers.
'I don't wear underwear.' He said flatly.
'You will if you're in my bed, mister.' Ignoring the shocked look on his face, she wrinkled up her nose at the package he had in his hand. 'What's that?' He stared for a second and then looked at what he was holding, having to replace his brain where it should belong quickly. He held up the backpack he'd retrieved from the camping department and shrugged.
'Figured it'd be nice for us to take some clean clothes with. We can find medical stuff here too, I wager. Maybe some more food. I can carry quite a lot. If we get more backpacks, we could replenish our entire stock.'
'We should get some more comfortable clothes for Tiree. And a new coat.' She squealed again. 'This is like Christmas. Thank you Spike!' Without warning, she flung her arms around his neck tightly. Spike wasn't quite sure how to reciprocate and stood there awkwardly until she let go, sliding away from him with a shade of embarrassment on her cheeks.
'Sorry.' She whispered. The vampire shrugged. 'Look…..' She paused, looking around uncomfortably. 'I don't know what this is between us….I don't know if it's right or wrong but…'
'You don't have to say anything Slayer. I know what I am. I know it couldn't work.'
'But it could.' She blurted out. 'I mean….this world is so different now. It's scary and horrible. But since you turned up…it's been better. Bearable. You're not the Spike I remember.' He watched her carefully as she spoke. Buffy rubbed her arm and looked shyly away from him. 'I like you now.'
Spike smirked. 'Let's get you some new gear yeah?' He said, changing the subject and moving to collect her pile of undergarments. 'We don't need to discuss this now. We have shopping to do.' Buffy smiled as he turned and headed for the next department, feeling more alive than she had since she'd fought Adam. Then she skipped to catch up with her vampire and hooked her hand in his, ignoring the look of surprise and instead sinking into a slight feeling of normalcy as they "shopped".
I-E-H
They had all eaten another hearty meal, cooked by Oz and were now sat in the living room of the abandoned house. The boys were happily playing a game of poker with a pack of cards Spike had found at the store. Buffy and Tiree had cleaned up after the meal and were currently packing the rucksacks, ready in case they had to leave suddenly. It may not have been the life she lived before, but for the first time in a long time, Buffy had a sense of security and family with this rag tag band of demons and humans. Even if none of them were truly human.
Spike had had the bright idea of stealing a shotgun and shells from the department store. He'd said that whilst shotguns were "bloody useless overall" they did slow the demon hybrids down and the hollow point shells he'd located, with the handy aid of vampire strength to break into the storage locker, would quite easily take a limb off if aimed properly. She didn't agree with guns and refused to touch one but Oz had some experience with a gun and so did Spike.
Buffy wasn't surprised at that. Spike could handle any weapon.
They'd even managed to find hunting equipment and Buffy had reminisced of a moment she had shared with Faith so long ago, when she'd taken whatever she wanted. Now, with the freedom to do so, she'd got herself a pretty new crossbow with plenty of arrows. She was even slightly excited at the prospect of a fight to try it out. Stakes used to be her primary weapon but they didn't go through metal and whilst her machete would always be close to her heart, she did like a good long range weapon.
The backpacks were distributed evenly, except for Spike's. He had a bigger one as he insisted he could carry more. She was still concerned about his lack of blood supply but had no doubt they could solve that problem later. The thought of their previous encounter whipped up strong feelings in her stomach and Spike's head whipped round when her feelings caught up with his nostrils. He smiled and turned back to his game of poker as Buffy blushed and continued packing her own bag.
When they'd finished, Spike announced that he was going for a cigarette. He'd found a massive supply in one of the shops at the mall and Buffy hadn't been able to deter him. Well, she hadn't tried very hard. It wasn't going to kill him and it would probably chill him out a bit.
Ryan and Tiree said they were going to bed and Oz said he would not be far behind. Buffy waited for them all to leave and then darted into her bedroom. She bent down under the bed and pulled two items of clothing out – a couple of things Spike hadn't seen her tuck into the pockets of her trousers.
She hadn't been lying with what she had said to him. She didn't see why they couldn't be together. Where was the harm in grabbing some happiness in this harsh and evil world? Even if the creature she wanted to grab happiness with was a former nemesis of hers.
She heard the front door click quietly and quickly changed, ducking under the covers and waiting for her bedroom door to open. When it didn't, she frowned. A few more minutes passed and she became impatient. Hadn't she made herself clear enough? Stupid vampire.
She got up and pulled on a dressing gown that probably belong the woman of the house before it was abandoned. Then she padded out into the hallway and headed for the living room. Spike wasn't in there. He was in the kitchen, sat at the counter.
His head was in his hands.
'Spike?' She whispered, approaching softly. He startled, obviously he had been lost in his own thoughts or he would have heard her. 'What's wrong?'
'What? Oh. Nothing.' He said, clearly lying. But she wasn't going to press him. Instead she smiled.
'Well, whatever it is, I bet I can cheer you up.' She whispered, untying the robe slowly. Spike gulped, which would have made her giggle if she wasn't trying so hard to keep her composure. The robe fell open; Spike's mouth wasn't far behind it.
'When did you….' He span to face her fully, arousal evident and grinned. 'You saucy little minx.'
'I figure we all need to find something to fight for. And there isn't much to be happy for in this world. Bonus that you being happy isn't a problem.' She said, walking slowly towards him.
'Buffy…' He said in a gasp as she ran her hand up his leg. 'I don't have a soul, pet. I'm not….'
'You're not Angel. I don't want you to be Angel.' She pressed her forehead against his. 'You don't need a soul. You've been fighting all this time….I think you're more than good enough for me.' She took his hands and he stood, almost as if hypnotised, following her as she led him into the bedroom.
As she pushed him on the bed and shut the door to the rest of the world, Spike could have sworn his heart took a beat.
I-E-H
Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up and that it's short. My little girl is charging about everywhere and it's a full time job making sure she doesn't break anything!