"Want you…Need you…God, Buffy… I love you so much…" Those sleepy utterances burrowed into Buffy's brain giving birth to an intensely unwanted ear worm that seemed to grow stronger with every passing moment.

"When you close your eyes and go to sleep

And it's down to the sound of a heartbeat

I can hear the things that you're dreamin' about

When you open up your heart and the truth comes out…"

"Don't know what crawled up your tight ass and died…" Spike growled, cutting through the tune twisting around in her brain, as they trudged through town. "Where the bloody hell are we going anyway?" he continued.

"You tell me that you want me

You tell me that you need me

You tell me that you love me

And I know that I'm right

'Cause I hear it in the night…"

"GAHHH! Would you just shut up already!?" Buffy yelled, unsure if she was more angry at him or her own brain. She took a few determined steps toward a dingy gray alleyway before finally answering his question. "It's Angel's old apartment building, you know the one he had before—before Angelus." She paused, her voice stronger when she began again. "You're gonna need somewhere with electricity to keep blood and I thought if it was good enough for him, it'll be good enough for you. If there's still a vacancy that is…"

Spike lifted an eyebrow, studying her for a long moment. "Nope. Piss on that. I'll find my own digs," he declared, turning on his heels and striding back out to the street.

"I hear the secrets that you keep

When you're talkin' in your sleep…"

"Hold up! Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Buffy demanded, jogging to catch up.

She looked over to him, his jaw set, shoulders visibly tight even under his jacket. "Anywhere but here." He patted his pockets looking for his cigarettes.

"And you have something better in mind? That nasty old factory or maybe the derelict mansion?" she spat.

He turned toward her with a glare. "Was thinking 'bout something more in the line of a crypt. Can always rig up some sort of electrical system. I'm more than a pretty face you know."

Buffy's heart pounded and she ripped her gaze away from him.

"I hear the secrets that you keep

When you're talkin' in your sleep…"

Spike snorted a plume of smoke. "You can't seriously think I'd be willing to settle anywhere the Great-Forehead's been at this point. Fat chance…" He stole a glance at her and deflated a little when he caught her looking. "It'd have to be something pretty fucking amazing—I don't even need to see inside that place to know it wasn't anything remotely special," he muttered, something in his tone sounding almost apologetic and he refused to look at her as they turned a corner..

"When I hold you in my arms at night

Don't you know you're sleepin' in a spotlight

And all your dreams that you keep inside

You're tellin' me the secrets that you just can't hide…"

Pushing the song's lyrics away, Buffy looked around only to realize she'd followed him into a public parking lot tucked away behind several dank buildings and another moment to notice he was heading straight for the decrepit DeSoto sitting in the back corner of the lot. Spike pulled a set of keys from his pocket and she blinked dumbly as he proceeded to take a seat behind the wheel and start the engine.

"Are you seriously telling me you've had a car this whole time, and you never said anything?" Buffy demanded.

"Don't recall you ever asking."

"So you could have left at any time, and what? You just didn't?"

"Would seem so," he admitted begrudgingly. "Now, are you gonna get in or are you planning on legging it to the cemeteries?"

She blinked, stunned by the new information.

"You tell me that you want me

You tell me that you need me

You tell me that you love me

And I know that I'm right

'Cause I hear it in the night…"

Swallowing down the tightness in her throat, Buffy took her seat beside him as he put the car in gear, fiddling with the radio. And as they pulled out of the lot, the song that had been twisting and turning in her head all night, blared from the speakers.

"…I can hear the things that you're dreamin' about

When you open up your heart and the truth comes out…"

Horror flared in her chest as she looked at him with eyes wide, suddenly wondering if he'd somehow known and planned the whole thing.

"Brilliant," Spike said, and turned up the volume as he shot her with a grin.

She clenched her fist, in an effort to get herself under control and cleared her throat. "Just drive, the sooner we can get you off Giles' couch, the better."

"Couldn't agree more, luv," he replied, drumming on the steering wheel in time to the music, and began to sing along.

"You tell me that you want me

You tell me that you need me

You tell me that you love me

And I know that I'm right

'Cause I hear it in the night

I hear the secrets that you keep

When you're talkin' in your sleep…"

A/N: Big thanks to Geliot99, thank you! The song used is Talking In Your Sleep by The Romantics