Spike rolled to a side, still panting and covered in sweat, he took a moment to look at Scarlett's bedroom and was amazed, "bloody hell, I now see why you were disgusted at that nest, I'm surprised you even dared to sleep on that ragged mattress considering that every night you sleep on this huge, comfy bed." He looked and caressed the black satin sheets and couldn't help thinking that bed screamed the word 'sex'. And ironically this is the first time this bed is used for that, I wager. She burst into laughter, "yeah, I'm surprised myself, but the mattress wasn't my priority." Scarlett leaned towards her nightstand and opened a small door in it, and Spike took a glance to see what she was doing and he realized that it wasn't really a nightstand but a mini fridge that looked like a nightstand. "You've got to be kidding me," he said while Scarlett was retrieving some ice from it and put it in a glass. "How on bloody earth you manage to live like this?" he asked, and she simply said, whispering close to his ear, "it's a secret," she then got up and grabbed a bottle of whisky from a small table next to the door. "You want one?" she asked him while holding the bottle, and Spike nodded. She poured the liquid in two glasses and walked back to the bed. He was waiting for her to hand him a glass but she opened the mini fridge once more and asked, "you want some blood in your whisky?"
Spike sat up and looked at her questioningly, "beg pardon?" Scarlett retrieved a blood bag from the mini fridge and poured some blood in her glass, then raised the bag and asked him again, "I asked if you want some blood in your whisky." Spike nodded, "so I take you rob blood bags from hospitals, eh, pet?" Scarlett gave him a scolding stare while handing him the glass, "I only drink the blood of evildoers, remember? I got some connections in the Penitentiary department and they provide me with yummy blood from the worst individuals in there," she replied before drinking.
Spike was truly impressed, this girl managed to lead an almost human life. She laid down next to him and rolled on her side, facing him. Spike savored his drink, the taste of human blood once more caressing his throat, and not feeling guilty about it. "And here I thought my crypt was posh," he said half smiling. He finished his drink, laid down and rolled to his side to face her. "Can I ask you something? And please don't deny me the answer," he asked softly. She sighed and replied, "I'll do my best." He caressed her lips and asked, "how did those witches made you able to walk in the sunlight? The last time I was able to look at Mr Sunshine was three years ago thanks to necro-tempered glass inside Wolfram and bloody Hart." She took a deep breath before answering, "two years ago I saved an entire coven from a massacre, they had been crippled, not being able to fight back with their powers. After that I lent them some of my witchcraft books and helped them rebuild their place. They were surprised when they saw I was a vampire, and as reward, once they had their powers back, they enchanted some jewelry that protects me from the sun. Now before you ask, no, you cannot use them because the spell cast on the items is linked to my soul. It only works on me." Scarlett noticed a small trail of sadness in Spike's face and quickly added, "but every single window in this house is covered with necro-tempered glass, so tomorrow you'll be able to see the sun. well, if you decide to spend the night here." He raised an eyebrow, "you also have necro-tempered glass? I thought only W&H had that." She laughed, "sweetie, is not rocket science, nor Pentagon-type of classified and confidential secret."
Spike so wanted to ask her to get him a ring but he just couldn't, he didn't want her to think he was using her, so he decided instead to change the subject. "How did you manage to be all by yourself all these years, pet? No one to talk to, no one to vent your frustrations, no one to shag, no one to share your happiness and miseries, no one to love," he asked. She shrugged, a trace of sadness in her eyes, "I shut down most of those feelings. Or more precisely, I re-directed them into one single feeling: violence. Whenever I feel sad, I seek out a nest or a demon and unleash all my frustration on it. Same whenever I had... urges. It helps, to some extent. That, or learning something new. That also helps sometimes."
Spike remembered what she said earlier in the bar, "you said you couldn't trust nor humans nor vamps to have sex with, I understand the hate vamps have at ensouled little us, always trying to kill us; but why you assume all humans would react like that, pet?" She remained silent for a few moments before she answered, "I don't. Being staked in my sleep is not my only concern. I cannot afford the risk of getting too invested with one of them." Spike gave her a judging stare, "what, you are saying you are too good for them, that they are not worthy of you?" She shot a look at him, clearly hurt, "god no, I would never..." Her words trailed off for some seconds and then added, "I cannot risk getting involved with a human, knowing that I'm an immortal and they are not; and that I cannot do anything to change that." Spike noticed unshed tears in her eyes. She got up and quickly changed the subject, "I'm gonna get some chocolate, I'm having some major craving." She donned a robe and left.
Spike wanted to kick himself for the previous comment. He turned on the nightstand light and looked around the bedroom. It was huge, the walls covered in dark wood, on his way to the balcony he noticed a walk-in closet, and on the opposite wall he saw the bathroom. The view was magnificent, all of London spreading before his eyes. Even though she was quiet, Spike heard Scarlett return. "You've got quite a view, pet," he said. "Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I love this house," she replied while cutting a chunk of chocolate and offering it to him, "it has almonds. I have an obssession with almonds." Spike accepted it and savored it, "bloody hell, this is awesome." She leaned on the balcony while savoring the chocolate, not caring about talking with her mouth full, "one day I'll fulfill my dream of traveling all around Europe, specially Paris." Spike raised an eyebrow and asked, "why haven't you? You surely can afford it, pet." She nodded, "yup, I can. But it doesn't mean I can go." "How so?, he asked. "Doesn't matter," she replied, and Spike decided to not push, it was clear she didn't want to answer, she had already answered too many of his questions.
Scarlett was staring absently into the distance, the moonlight lighting her face, and for the first time he could see the loneliness in her eyes and how hard she was trying to fight that back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and once she opened them again Spike saw the sadness was gone, completely replaced by fire. She turned around and they began kissing passionately while heading back to the bed.
Spike woke up and saw the sunlight hit straight into his face and his first instinct was to fully cover himself with the sheets, "bloody hell!" It took him some seconds to realize his skin wasn't sizzling and remembered the necro-tempered glass. He also noticed he was alone in the bed. He got up, wrapped himself in the sheets and looked inside the luxurious bathroom, but Scarlett was not there, so he headed to the window. Safe behind the glass, he closed his eyes and let the sun wash over his skin. He could feel the warmth and it felt so good. He remained there for a good five minutes before his cell phone began ringing and disrupted his enjoyment. He fished his phone out of his coat and looked at the caller ID, it was Angel. Spike sighed and picked up, "What you want?", he said curtly. "Just checking out to see if you were still alive. And to let you know that I spoke with Andrew and he might get us an office through a contact he has in London," the elder vampire said, and added, "where are you anyways? It's daylight already, are you stuck in the sewers? If so... it sucks to be you." Spike scoffed, "I know it's daylight and I ain't stuck in no sodding sewers, mate. I can get safely home if I have to. Anything else? No? Ok, bye." He cut the conversation and got dressed.
He got out of the bedroom and went downstairs, looking for Scarlett. He was impressed at the house, not a house, a bloody mansion, he thought. It looked like an early 1900s style but with some touches of modern designs. He entered the kitchen, which was impeccable and with a very modern design. And once he got out of it, he heard faint noises and music coming from another door at the end of the hall. He opened it and saw they headed downstairs, basement, why did it have to be a bloody basement?, but then decided to go down. Now the music was much louder, and the noises were Scarlett grunting. Spike poked his head around a wall and saw her punching and kicking a boxing bag. "Don't think it'll fight back, pet," he shouted over the sound of Metallica, ha, she still has good taste in music. She turned around, startled, "thought you'd be still sleeping", she said, while turning off the music. Spike scratched his head, "well, Mr Sunshine decided to scare the shit outta me before I realized he couldn't hurt me." She laughed, wiped her sweat off with a towel and walked up to him, "let me know when you're ready for a ride home." Spike raised an eyebrow, "and here I thought I could spend more time here watching the sun." She shrugged, "sorry, I gotta leave in less than an hour, gonna be out of town for some days." "How many days?" he asked. She shook her head, "I don't know probably a week." Bollocks, he sighed.