Title: Detour Author: kindred Disclaimer: The BtVS characters are the property of Joss Whedon and his associates. Rating: NC-17 Feedback: Yes Summary: Future fic. Vengeance, memory and the course of true love. 17. A loud snort from the back of Buffy's throat roused her from another brief sleep with a start. She blinked the remnants of a most satisfying dream from her eyes and took a quick inventory. Not her bedroom, check. Naked, check. Not alone, check. A herd of tingly love bunnies nibbling at her-- Check. Buffy's eyes shifted sideways. Comfortably propped up on his elbow, Spike observed her with a look of benign amusement. It wasn't a dream. "Not saying a word, love." "Oh God, I must really snore. You never said anything before!" Buffy swatted Spike's chest. "Guess I must have been a gentleman about it." "Yeah." "Come on, Slayer. You make me sound like I was Sir Lancelot or some other sparkly ponce in tights and tassels, prancing out of the pages of a fairy tale." "Oh, it hasn't been a fairy tale, Spike, believe me, in spite of the fact that you saved the whole world and--" "What? I did WHAT?!" Spike's jaw fell open. "Haven't I covered that yet? I thought I'd mentioned something about that the other day." Buffy's lips tightened in thought. "It's true. You saved the world, Spike." "And? AND? Details! I want details!" Spike stared in amazement as Buffy gave him the quick thumbnail tour of How Spike Saved the World. The ego boosting benefits of those highlights outweighed any lingering resentments he may have felt regarding his soul acquisition and the fact that he apparently sacrificed himself for love and honor. For a vampire who prided himself on keeping up with times, it did seem to be a hopelessly old fashioned gesture. World destruction schemes were never his thing. Apocalypses were more to Angelus' taste. Something big and showy to match the scale of that overblown ego. This tale, however, held his attention. Spike was equally repulsed and astounded by the revelations. William the Bloody had saved the day. God, he really was a white hat; Sir Galahad and Dudley Do-Right all rolled into one devastatingly handsome package. Needless to say, it was a shock to the system. After that initial jolt, the resurrection chaser paled in comparison. "So, these higher plane blokes sent me back?" "The PTB? Yep." "And they are?" He needed a score card to keep all the players straight. "The Powers That Be. Can't say as I've met them myself, but you did." "Right...in the conservatory with the candlestick." Buffy knotted her eyebrows together and ignored his remarks. "They said you are significant." Spike liked the sound of that. "That was the word they used. Significant. You, mister, are significant to the future." Spike's mouth quirked with barely restrained pleasure. He was significant; that part wasn't so difficult to believe. The extra dollops of ego gratification weren't bad either. "Apparently, there was this lawyer guy who tampered with the amulet. I don't know if he was seriously evil or just disgruntled. I think he wanted to eliminate you from the equation but it didn't work. I don't know all the details, but Angel made sure he won't be bothering us any more." "Hold on." Spike's mind seized on that tasty tidbit. "Angelus-- er, Angel knows about this? Peaches knows I saved the world?" At Buffy's nod of affirmation, Spike's face broke into a dark, evil giggle of unexpected delight. This was something to be savored, something to shout from the mountain tops. "That's bloody delicious, that is. Bet that stuck in his craw! Hah! The old bugger." His smile lit up the room and showed no signs of subsiding. "Tell me I rubbed the bastard's nose in it every chance I got." Being a hero suddenly wasn't so unpleasant when it involved showing up Angelus for the useless, domineering bag of bollocks he really was. "Well, he kinda had his own apocalyptic thingy a year ago or so. We weren't invited. There was fireworks, a demon army, a river of blood...you know, the basic package." Buffy listed off the elements with a blank expression. Spike's short lived elation plummeted back to earth with a dull thud. His expression hardened. "You're telling me that..." Spike grit his teeth together, "the Poofter...saved the world...AFTER I did it? FUCK! That is just my luck!" "Well, he had help, believe me, but not as he tells it. I swear, if I have to hear that dragon story one more time..." Buffy's voice trailed off into a weary sigh. "He kinda goes on about it." She rolled her eyes. "Still." "Tell me about it." Spike pursed his lips sourly. "The river of blood thing? It's an old trick. Back in the day, Angelus used to--" "What?" It was something he'd not told her before. Buffy waited with rapt attention. Spike wrinkled his forehead and looked at her, caught up in their easy exchange. "We're having a conversation." There was no baiting or taunting, just talk. It felt nice and easy. It felt right. "We have been known to do that." Without thinking, Spike reached out and traced the curve of Buffy's collarbone. His voice softened. "You said I was a man for you." Buffy nodded. "Uh huh." "Don't remember any of that." It was a plain fact. "I know." "Did we get along?" "Mostly." Spike smirked at her choice of word. "Had our moments, did we?" "I guess I can be kind of hard to live with." He was surprised by her admission. "That's when I get especially soulful, is it?" Spike steeled himself for her response. He knew very well the outrageous lengths he'd gone to try to keep Drusilla happy. Buffy rolled her eyes. As if. "That's when you go play poker with the boys and come home covered in cat hair and smelling like a brewery." Spike smirked at that revelation. Maybe he hadn't become a complete blubbering git after all. She shivered slightly and frowned. "It's a little chilly in here, you should have told me." "It is? I never noticed." Spike pulled the blanket tighter around them. Snuggling with this naked slayer suddenly seemed the most natural thing in the world to be doing. They lay in a comforting silence until he spoke again. "Tell me the truth. How'd I end up with a soul in the first place?" A memory struck Buffy and with it a concern she should have voiced earlier. "Is it hurting you? Are you in pain? You haven't been seeing ducks by any chance, have you?" Spike's forehead creased. "Ducks? Uh, not lately." He didn't want to know where that inquiry came from. "And no, it doesn't hurt, a little tingly at times, but no pain." That gave Buffy some relief. "The soul?" He prompted and paused. "You went to Africa to seek out some wish granting demon guy in a cave." Spike remembered hearing stories of such a being. "And all it took to get into your knickers was a shiny soul?" "No. We had already broken up by then." Buffy didn't want to get into specifics. The more she thought, the more she knew that some aspects of their history didn't need to be rehashed in microscopic detail. With a woman in the picture it was pretty obvious to Spike what he'd done. Something impulsive. Something rash. Flowers and chocolates would hardly cut it with this one. She'd need goodness; a bloody bona fide hero. "I did it for you." Spike spoke the truth he felt in his bones. To be hers. He couldn't look at her, the intimacy of that statement snagged in his throat. It seemed that old William wasn't so dead after all. It was just the kind of sweeping gesture he would have come up with, all lavender stink and noble intentions. It was the sort of grand display Drusilla would have snickered at or not even noticed in the first place. Buffy squeezed his arm beneath the blanket and snuggled closer. Spike let out a wistful sigh and the strong emotion dissipated. "Wish I could remember fighting you, other than the other day, I mean. I know I would have enjoyed that very much." "It was fun." "Tell me truthfully now," his eyes twinkled with returning mischief. "Was I your most formidable opponent?" "I'd have to admit you were an excellent enemy, very tricky and--" "And you kicked my arse every chance you got, didn't you?" He knew what kind of girl he'd go for. Headstrong and difficult. No challenge otherwise. "Well, we were enemies for a long time." Buffy suddenly became aware of a returning presence at her hip. "And then we were this." Spike positioned himself back between her widening thighs. "There were a few steps in between." Buffy placed her hands at his shoulders. "Of that I have no doubt." He didn't need every last detail. Spike could play the cards on the table. He stared at her neck, mesmerized by the feelings that crept through him. "I don't suppose now is the time to get into all that." Even Buffy knew chat time had come to an end for a while. "And you'd be right." With a quick movement of his hand, Spike angled himself and pushed inside her welcoming depths. Buffy arched in response and then brought her thighs up tight against his hips. He began an unhurried rhythm within her. "Don't close your eyes," he lulled tenderly. "I want to see you." There was something so right about being between her thighs, embraced by the surf of her pounding heartbeat. Spike's hips linked easily with Buffy's as if it was the most natural position for him to assume. His senses filled to overflowing. Her skin, her breath, her touch, her hair. Everything about her welcomed him. Yeah, he could get used to this. "Something tells me we did this a lot." Spike looked down between their undulating bodies. It was a glorious sight. "You're always saying there's nothing on television worth watching, so we make our own fun." "Bet we have no problems doing that." "I think we're gifted that way." Buffy's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Sorry if I was a bit frenzied before." He was beginning to appreciate the benefits of a leisurely approach. "Don't be sorry, it was nice." "Nice? Now that's a ringing endorsement if I ever-- Unhh..." The sarcasm dwindled away to a groan as she once again squeezed him internally to get his attention. His forehead hit the pillow beside Buffy's head. "Um, we've had a few communication issues in the past, Spike. It's something we've been working on." "Not too successfully, I see." He managed one last burst of petulance. "We do a lot better with body language." Buffy knew exactly how to wipe that pesky smirk off his face. "So I've noticed..." tbc...