Just letting you know in advance, there won't be much Angel bashing in this story. Buffy and Spike are way too busy with each other to pay attention to him xD
First there was pain. Excruciating pain that meant he was somehow still in this world. Then came the yelling. The kind only unbearable agony could extract from a poor sod.
Before long, he realised he was the one screaming. And he wasn't alone. Buffy was there too, the anguish in her voice more soul-crushing than anything he'd ever heard.
At bloody last, the pain receded, and his whole body went lax with relief.
As his senses came back, he could feel her nestled in the curve of his arm, catching her breath. Her heart was beating so strongly against his side he could have sworn it was his own.
"Buffy," he gasped out quietly.
She raised her eyes to him and slowly moved to his front, her gentle fingertips wiping the tears from his cheeks. Mesmerised by the look of awed wonder on her face, he pulled her close and leaned his forehead against hers.
"You're here," he whispered, closing his eyes against the strong emotions he could feel awakening inside him.
She returned the embrace tightly, and it helped to ground him. It was almost too much to bear, the way he felt for her. The way he felt, period, actually. As if it was all coming back at once after an age of not feeling. The overwhelming emotions soon made him restless, desperate for an outlet. He squeezed her harder, hoping that would do it.
And then the memory of why she was there made its way back to his brain, and he couldn't contain the utter fury that rose in him. He pushed her back with a snarl.
"You barmy bint!" Spike roared, clocking her in the face for good measure. "What the bleeding hell is wrong with you?"
ooooooooooooooooo
Angel felt like he was going to be sick. Buffy - his Buffy - seemed to have managed to do the impossible and cheat death yet again, and instead of rushing into his arms for an emotional reunion like he would have expected, she was plastered all over his grandchilde, looking at him as if… god, he didn't want to know. And what happened to being cookie dough, anyway?
Thankfully, it didn't last. For some reason, the moron of a vampire in her arms shoved her away, followed by a punch, and the look of hurt and betrayal on her face... no, it did not. It did not give him any satisfaction whatsoever. That was the demon; not him.
Nevertheless, that made for a decent excuse to put the blond menace back in his place. But before he had time to lunge for Spike, Buffy's expression turned ferocious, and he held back, deciding what came next was a show he'd thoroughly enjoy watching.
"Me?" she shouted back, her body vibrating with fury and indignation. "I tell you I love you, and that's all you have to say?" Buffy retorted, aiming a vicious blow at his nose.
The dark-haired vampire gaped at her in shock.
Did she just… say love? Surely she was being sarcastic, right? Or it could be one of those ridiculous far-fetched puns she liked to deliver right before the killing blow… which wasn't coming.
Angel squared his jaw against the pain.
Alright, maybe he didn't need to hear that conversation after all. Letting his own anger take over, he went into game face and charged Spike with a demonic growl… only to fly right through him and crash into his desk. He turned around and frowned.
He knew it! It wasn't real. He knew Buffy was and would always be his. It had to be a holographic image of some sort, conjured by an evil warlock in an attempt to get to him. Yes. That would explain why they didn't seem to have noticed him or anyone else in the room.
He approached the apparition carefully and flapped an arm through Spike, watching the two of them continue to argue as if he wasn't even here.
ooooooooooooooooo
"And how am I supposed to believe you when you go about kissing exes left and right?" Spike shot back, throwing a first punch she blocked, and a second she dodged.
Buffy faltered at the accusation. Probably because a large part of her still felt guilty about that.
"I'm not- that's not how it was, and you know it!" Buffy countered, crossing her arms against the urge to hit him. To hit anything.
It almost made it worse that he followed her lead and dropped the ready stance. She could tell he was hanging on by a thread too, overwhelmed by it all and too frantic to stay still.
He started pacing in front of her.
"Oh, so what? To prove me wrong, you were going to throw away your life? Goddamnit, woman!" He yelled back, gesturing madly.
When he put it like that, it did sound pretty dumb. And now that she thought about it, she couldn't pinpoint the exact reason she'd stayed. All she remembered was the fierce need to be with him and the absolute certainty that everything was going to be alright if she did.
"I couldn't leave you there to die!" She cried, unable to contain the whirlwind of emotions inside her that was desperately trying to get out.
"And why the hell not?" He retorted, stopping in her face. "You could have finally had the life you always wanted!"
"I don't want a life without you in it!"
They both froze at that. The crazy thing was that she meant it. Just like she meant a whole bunch of other things she absolutely wasn't ready to say but were somehow still on the tip of her tongue, seconds from bursting out.
Spike's entire demeanour softened at her words and he reached for her.
"Buffy-"
She punched him.
And god, she hated herself for how good it felt. How right. Like her fists could tell him just how much the thought of him gone had hurt a thousand times better than words.
How dare he, anyway? He was mad at her for throwing away her life but he'd been about to do the exact same thing!
She watched as Spike stumbled back from the blow. He wiped a trickle of blood from his split lip, his eyes blazing with a fire that mirrored her own.
"I'm so gonna make you pay for this," she growled, low and dangerous.
Spike lunged at her with a roar, and they both finally let go.
She poured it all into him, raining a flurry of punches, and he matched her blow by blow. He matched her strength. He matched her speed. He matched her passion. He matched her everything.
Just like he always had.
And she absolutely loved it.
ooooooooooooooooo
Ew ew ew ewwww!
Harmony winced in disgust at the scene before her - the one facial expression that didn't go with the way she did her makeup today.
She couldn't believe her mean, dumb (sexy) ex was being all lovey dovey with the Slayer.
Ugh! Gross!
She hadn't been a vampire for long, but she was pretty sure there were laws against this kind of thing. Wait, did vampires even have laws? She was a vampire, and she worked at a vampire law firm, so you'd think she'd be the first to know…
Anyway, and since when did Buffy even care about that moron? The last time she saw them, Buffy wouldn't give him the time of night, and now apparently she loved him? That girl was obviously deranged. Oh. Was that why Spike-
"Hey!" Harmony protested when Buffy threw said vampire right through her.
She was about to give that boyfriend-stealer a piece of her mind when she saw the slayer walking right at her with a dead serious face that meant business.
Harmony squeaked and jumped out of the way, watching the blonde haul Spike to his feet to punch him some more.
Huh. Why were they fighting again? First, there had been the moon eyes and cuddling, then the punching, followed closely by nauseating declarations she'd kill to hear from any guy, then yelling and full on fighting.
Mood swings much?
Maybe they finally realised they were supposed to kill each other... Which meant the guy that could win gold medals without even trying when it came to sex would be either single or dust in a matter of minutes.
She reached up to check her hair - having no reflection was lame - and popped a button from her blouse, just in case.
Or, it could just be Spike being a freak. He'd always been turned on by this kind of thing. Which, you know, is alright to a certain extent, but this meant a one way ticket to couples therapy in her book, she mused as Spike's jaw cracked loudly from a nasty uppercut. She couldn't believe sweet, goody-two-shoes Buffy was going along with it.
A few minutes later, Spike had taken the upper hand and was shoving the Slayer into a wall. He didn't even blink at the fact that she went right through - what the hell? - and followed right after her.
He got pushed back into view, then went into game face with a roar that would totally have made any female vampire's body tingle all over, before lunging forward again.
Harmony followed the others out of Angel's office while making sure her clothes were hugging her curves in just the right way, and all but gaped at what they found in the conference room next door.
Spike and Buffy weren't fighting anymore. Instead, they were on the floor, making out like they were trying to devour each other, the soft moans and quiet smacking of their kisses resonating in the deafening silence.
Harmony rolled her eyes with a half muttered 'freaks', before going back to her desk. She had to sort out Angel's schedule for tomorrow, anyway; she so wasn't in the mood to watch her ex reenact a porno with the freaking Slayer…
ooooooooooooooooo
Buffy wasn't sure how exactly it had happened. All she remembered was straddling him when he fell on his butt, then something had snapped inside of her and the next thing she knew, she'd been grabbing his collar to pull him in for a greedy kiss.
And now there was major meltage happening in the brain of Buffy as their mouths finally got reacquainted. Meltage and sparkage and basically everything in-between.
She gasped when he bit her lower lip, and opened for him eagerly, tangling her fingers in his hair to keep him there. Not that he'd go anywhere, with the way he was clutching her to him, but some things deserved a no risk policy, and from now on, staying attached to Spike's lips - or any other Spike's part, for that matter - was definitely on top of the list.
Because, god, now that he was back in her mouth - back between her thighs - it was becoming real obvious that she would never get enough of him. Not when his tongue was chasing hers like he was on a mission to worship every single inch of her mouth. Or when his strong, hard body was pressed to hers in just the right way as to drive her crazy with lust. And definitely not when the thrill of being with him like that wasn't tainted with shame and anger anymore.
Now that she thought about it, that was actually the best part. Without the infernal ruckus of her conscience working overtime, she was free to lose herself in the taste and feel of him. Free to enjoy it, even. After the emotional rollercoaster of a moment ago, it was the most amazing feeling in the world.
How twisted was it that she'd had to die and beat him up again to get there?
As if he'd heard her thoughts, Spike tore his mouth away from hers without warning, searching her face with a guarded expression that tugged at her heart painfully.
But things were different this time. She wasn't all raw and broken, looking for a quick fix before fleeing his presence with cruel words. She wanted to be here with him. For as long as he would allow.
She loved him. No doubts about it, now. It was still unfolding and taking root in her heart, but it was there.
And the only words she wanted to tell him right at this moment were filled with the affection and longing she never dared to voice before.
It must have been written all over her face though, because he seemed to relax, leaning into her touch when she gingerly reached for the gash on his cheek.
"I'm sorry I hit you," she mumbled.
He shook his head, his expression going all soft.
"Don't be. Gave as good as I got," Spike cooed back, thumbing the cut on her lower lip. "'Sides, I was the one who started it, remember?"
She nodded once with an hesitant smile, trying to put words on the feelings she used to find disturbing, but was slowly learning to embrace.
"Is it weird that I kinda liked it?"
He snorted, shaking his head again like the candid question made her too cute for words. "Bloody glorious is what it was. 'Course you liked it."
She grinned, before leaning back in, this time for a slow, tender kiss that made butterflies flutter in her stomach delightfully.
They exchanged a smile full of promises when they pulled back.
"You must be the world's biggest dope, you know," she said fondly, resting her chin over his shoulder when he enfolded her into a bear hug a second later.
He chuckled in her arms, the light-hearted sound all but healing her soul.
"Yeah, and you're bloody insane. Scared the unliving shit out of me, you have."
Buffy rubbed his back soothingly, then frowned as she finally noticed their surroundings. She'd been so focused on all things Spike that she hadn't had any attention to spare over their location.
They weren't in heaven for one, and the table and chairs taking up most of the room they were in - how did they not completely wreck the place? - was screaming corporate hell rather than actual hell.
How on Earth did they-
Someone cleared their throat nearby. In a way that made it obvious it wasn't the first time and they were starting to lose their patience.
They untangled themselves just enough to look at the intruder and came face to face with none other than Angel. And a bunch of other people (demons?).
Was that Wesley?
ooooooooooooooooo
Spike listened to her greet Angelus and his team distantly, as if in a daze. He still couldn't believe what was happening.
She hadn't jumped out of his arms and pretended nothing had happened like he would have expected. Instead, she'd blushed adorably, helped him to his feet and tucked herself against his side, her hand never leaving his.
And now Peaches was glaring daggers at him as if he'd done him a personal offence, but for the life of him, he didn't give a single shit.
He should have been gloating about the sweet justice of having that wanker watch them in action, mind, but the only thing he could think about right now was how the last few minutes had played out and what it all meant.
Because from where he was standing, it sure as hell looked like Buffy actually loved him.
After everything he had put her through, he'd been convinced she never would. But that was the thing with those bloody Summers women; they had a bit of a habit of knocking him right on his arse. Even Joyce had continued to, long after she rose up there with the stars.
Shagging the watcher on a sodding policecar? Bloody hell, woman!
"Spike?" Buffy called with a small nudge, bringing him back to the present. "You ok?"
He blinked in surprise when he realised they were alone again, then turned to her.
"You love me," he said in awe, barely believing it himself.
Buffy rolled her eyes fondly. "God, you're slow." Then she walked to the door, tugging him along with her. "C'mon. Looks like we're in the way, and they have a room for us to rest in."
"'M not tired," he protested distractingly as they followed that green-skinned demon from before.
Spike raised a curious eyebrow when they passed an assemblage of human black suits and vampires waiting at the entrance of the room.
What the bloody hell was this place? Evil Incorporated?
Anyway, if the chit thought he was gonna get any sleep after all the fighting and snogging-
"Me neither," she confessed quietly, glancing at him with a look of pure mischief.
He paused for a beat, bewildered by the saucy smirk on her lips, then grinned and picked up the pace, his heart - among other things - full and throbbing for her.
Bloody hell, she loved him…
And that concludes this little story! I might write an epilogue for it at some point. Maybe even continue it for next year's Short and Spuffy if I get any ideas.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!