Author: Lucinda
Rating: pg?, pg 13?
Main Characters; Spike, Willow
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from BtVS.
Distribution: WLS, Bite Me, SoulMates, WWW, YourMission
Summary: (the continuation of Tale of Two Tiggers) They return to the carnival, and this time it's actually open.
Notes: Set in S4, so Spike is chipped. Willow is NOT dating Tara. :Words inside colons: are the other person in a telephone conversation.
 

Willow woke up, her body feeling stiff, her mouth tasting that particular sort of nasty that hinted at lingering sweets gone stale. She stumbled out of her bed, grabbing a few items of clean clothing and simultaneously peeling out of yesterdays things while walking down the hall to the shower. Something was nagging at her mind, something that she'd forgotten, something important... She'd remember after the shower, surely.

Had she been more alert, the battered black boot half fallen into the hallway beyond her parents' bedroom door would have been a strong clue. It was something that her parents would never wear, and in fact, her parents weren't even in the state. Had she remembered that she'd brought Spike home with her, she probably wouldn't have been wandering down the hallway while stripping off her clothing. The idea of Spike catching her half naked would be... rather awkward.

As things turned out, Willow had remembered while in the shower that she'd brought Spike home with her, that he'd been still watching old tapes of wrestling that Xander had brought over and forgotten when she'd staggered off to bed. She'd brought her clothing into the bathroom, so she was actually dressed when she peeked out into the hall, seeing no signs of movement. In fact, she'd even made herself brunch and cleaned up after her cooking before she heard Spike moving.

From the sounds of it, he'd somehow fallen out of the bed, and was swearing in multiple languages about it. One boot tumbled down the stairs, shortly followed by the second. Then, there was a brief trail of heavy footsteps as Spike made his way to the bathroom, and she could hear him begin a shower. Willow smiled at the idea, almost amused by Spike's not so morning routine.

Spike crept into the kitchen, his damp hair having been left in unruly waves and locks. "Any idea where the other boot went? And... is there anything... bloodish in the house?"

Willow giggled. "Bloodish? As in not quite but sort of blood? I went to Willie's and got you some carry out, it's in the refrigerator. No wheatabix though."

"Ha bloody ha. But you got me... really?" He opened the refrigerator, half hesitant, as if he wanted to look and didn't want to at the same time. He pulled out the cardboard box, opening the flap slowly.

"Red... this... this isn't pig's blood. You got me... how fresh is it?" Spike held one bag in his hand, tracing over the Red Cross label slowly, almost reverently.

She smiled, having figured that he'd be happy, but not quite expecting him to be this impressed. "Willie swore that it was absolutely fresh, barely had time to chill, blah blah... I figure at least a week. But, um, I figured it would still be better for you than the pig's blood."

Leaving him to enjoy his breakfast, Willow went to the living room, flipping through the pages of her psychology book. She could hear Spike moving in the kitchen, and the sound of the microwave running. Absently, she tried to imagine how her parents, both of whom seemed to try to be semi-orthodox Jews, would react. There was a presumably Protestant vampire in the kitchen, having blood. So very not kosher... and let's not forget that her parents still probably didn't think she should have 'boys' in her room.

The telephone rang, and she answered it, absently wondering who it could possibly be. "Rosenberg residence..."

:Oh, Willow, I'm sooo glad I could find you! Giles has this problem with all of his books, and he's sort of trying to have everyone help him fix it, which is just not right because I think we can blame it all on Spike! But I told Giles I'd call you and have you come on over and help fix these old books, and Riley and I are going to the carnival! Isn't that just so sweet?: Buffy's voice chattered over the phone.

"You seem to be feeling perkier, Buffy. Last time I saw you, well, you were collapsed in Giles' chair. Now, are you trying to have me take over helping Giles so you can go on a date?" She hoped that she'd heard a few things wrong, that Buffy really wasn't trying to pull what she thought she was trying.

:Well, I've been helping him for a while now. I had no idea how many really old books he even had! How many books on portents of doom does any one guy need? And I could use a bit of quality time with Riley. It's not like you have something better to do tonight...: Buffy sounded far too convinced about Willow's lack of other plans.

Willow felt something like intensified growling annoyance flash into her. "Actually, I do have plans for this evening, and my date would be most annoyed at someone trying to change things. Sorry." She hung up the phone, not wanting to hear Buffy trying to convince her that this date with Riley was really important, or to try to cover for the 'not like you have anything better to do' comment.

"Date, Red? It's a date now?" Spike's voice was filled with amusement as he leaned against the doorway, a mug in hand filled with blood.

She could feel herself blushing. "ummm... well, Buffy was trying to have me go help Giles put all of his books back into order, the books that you made a mess of, by the way. And her reason why I should go do this instead of her is that she wants to go to the carnival with Riley, and she doesn't think I have anything better to do with my time. So I said I had a date... which you heard... and umm... I thought you wanted to go back to the carnival and have more cotton candy?"

Spike smiled as he sipped his blood. "You forgot the part where I was going to win you one of those stuffed animals. I guess that does sound a bit like a date. And I don't want Fluffy messing it up."

Willow grinned, her heart feeling much lighter. Spike wasn't upset, he still wanted to go to the carnival. Life was... pretty good right now.

end part 1.