Author Note: Just in case it isn't obvious, or anyone's confused with what's happening: we've skipped a couple of months here, and Buffy and Spike have now moved to London together.
London Again - September 2004
"Y'know," said Spike, walking hand in hand with Buffy down a busy London street. "This whole going for a stroll in daylight thing is still really odd for me."
Buffy nodded, "Well it makes sense that it'd take a while to get used to. You did spend over a century in the dark. Well, aside from that one time… but, uh, let's not talk about that."
"Yeah," he said, "Still, I'm thinking I might save daytime for special occasions. In our line of work it's only logical we stay relatively nocturnal."
"I like the sun," Buffy protested. "Though, it's not like we get much of it here in your homeland. Maybe that's your problem: you were never that used to even when you were alive – the first time."
"We get more than enough," he assured her.
"I'm only teasing. You do kinda have a point, but there's almost as much stuff for me to do during the day as at night. I've gotta sort Dawn out before school, and do banking and go shopping. It's no fair, why can't everything be 24 hours so I can actually schedule in some sleep once in a while?"
"Discrimination against creatures of the night, and the creatures that kill them?" he offered, grinning, before putting on his serious face. "You're right about it not being fair, to expect you to fight demons by night and bank mangers by day. I'm gonna have to get a job, ain't I? So I can take care of some stuff and support you in your slaying."
"I'm not gonna be a kept woman!"
"Luv, it's not like I'm trying to force you to live off me and be a Suzy Home-maker type because I get some strange kick out of traditional gender roles. I'm actually trying to enable your girl power, and it just so happens that doing that goes against the grain like everything else in our bloody little lives."
"Okay, where did the sudden tension at the end of that sentence come from?"
"Sorry," he said with a sigh, "I didn't mean it to sound like I don't like our lives it's just…"
"What?"
"Well, we're not exactly in the ideal situation. Shacked up with your Watcher. It's like doing it with your father next door."
"Eww, trying not to think about that! And we are not 'shacked up' with Giles. He's just giving us a place to crash until we find somewhere for ourselves. Speaking of places, are we close?"
"Almost there. Assuming the building's still standing, it should be right round that corner," he said, gesturing to his left.
"And the other place - where I saw the vision of you - that's a couple of blocks away, right? What's the emotional significance of there?"
"Oh, umm… yeah, a couple of blocks," he averted her gaze.
"Spike? Spill!"
"That's a- kinda the place I met Dru."
"Met as in…?"
"Must you torture this out of me?!" he said, before drawing a deep breath. "The place you pointed out to me just so happens to be the place where Dru turned me, and uh, did other things to make me less of the innocent mild mannered man I was."
Buffy's eyes widened and her jaw slacked a little. "Are you trying to tell me you lost your virginity in an alleyway?!"
"Not like your first time was the teenage dream, luv" he shot back at her.
She frowned and glanced at her watch. "A whole twenty minutes without bickering. Think it's a new record."
"Well, you started it," he said, smirking again; thankful for the change in subject. "Anyway, here we are. Me old mum's house, which is now a WHAT?!"
"An up market pay by the hour hotel," said Buffy, reading the sign above the marble archway.
"This is a disgrace. A right bloody tragedy! I was born here."
"Huh? You missed out that bit on the brochure."
"Goes without sayin', don't it? Was standard procedure to give birth at home back then."
Buffy rolled her eyes at her lover, "Sometimes dating you is like a walking history lesson."
"But more fun though?" he asked, running a hand up her bare arm in such a way that sent a tingling feeling throughout the rest of her body.
"Duhh," she said. "Can we go inside?"
"What are you thinking?"
"That I want to see the place…"
"And?" he prodded her, raising an eyebrow.
Blushing a little she looked into his bright blue eyes before continuing, "And maybe we could spend some time? Do it away from Giles, if that's not weird for you."
He tilted his head at her, remaining silent.
"Oh, you know what I mean. Would you be okay doing it here?"
Pulling her hard against his chest so fast she let out a little yelp, he let a growl escape his throat in response before kissing her firmly.
When their lips parted she was smiling widely. "I'll take that as a yes," she said. "That growl is so sexy. I always figured it was just a vamp thing, but you do it even now."
"Well," he said, holding the door open for her and slapping her backside as she walked past him through it. "Old habits die hard."
"I should kick your ass for that."
He bit his tongue – literally – and she shook her head. "If you're gonna keep being this way you're gonna have to get me up those stairs pretty quickly, Mister."
"Bell hop!" he shouted, turning around to the check in desk, "A room now."
There was a teenage girl manning reception, and a bright green demon behind her.
Both Buffy and Spike locked eyes on it at the same time and immediately assumed battle stances, but the girl drove her elbow back into its ribcage before they could lunge. She had it on the ground without even needing to turn around. Upon finally facing it she let out a sigh and snapped its neck with ease.
"Impressive," said Spike.
"Slayer?" asked Buffy.
The girl nodded, "Room for two. How many hours shall I put you down for?"
Spike looked back at his girl, and she in turn glanced back down at her watch.
"Think we can squeeze in four."
The girl handed him a key with the room number on it and he took off up the stairs with Buffy over his shoulder, taking them two at a time.
"You can pay on checkout!" she shouted after them, before rolling her eyes and dragging the demon out back to be dumped.
To be continued…