Summary:
What if? during Fool for Love. What if Buffy wasn't a raging ... you
know what, even kinda flirty, and what if Riley showed up at the Bronze
while Spike and Buffy were talking?
Chapter 1
Buffy shoved Spike against the wall, and she held him in place with her
body. Her mind flashed back to the night that the vampire tried to get
his chip out, and how he had felt atop her body. Buffy gulped loudly,
and she ever so slightly pressed her body closer to Spike's. This
isn't exactly how I planned to do this, but it sure feels good.
"Ow." Spike stopped a moment, and he sniffed the air. Slayer blood and
arousal caused his nostrils to flare. "Wait. Not ow. You feeling all
right, Slayer? This stuff usually hurts."
Buffy leaned in to whisper in Spike's ear. "Don't even start." Before
she could stop herself, she flicked the vampire's ear lobe with her
tongue.
Spike groaned, and managed to squeak out. "What are you doing, luv?" He
had a feeling this could be the best evening of his unlife, and he
didn't want to do anything to bollocks it up. "Not that I mind in the
least."
"Slayers ... You killed two of them," Buffy whispered. She ran her
hands down Spike's arms, and she fastened them around his wrists. Then
she pinned them above his head, but the action made her flinch slightly
when the wound in her abdomen gave her a twinge of pain.
"I did." Spike felt the Slayer's jerky movements when she moved against
him, and the predator in him instantly noticed the weakness. That
explains the lack of the usual power in her moves, Spike thought to
himself. His voice filled with concern as he asked, "I smell blood. Did
some nasty get a hold of you, pet?"
"Yes, that's why I need you to show me how." Buffy let go of Spike's
wrists, and she backed away from the vampire. She hated that he knew
her weakness without her saying a word. He always seemed to know her
better than anyone else, even when she loathed to admit it. She smiled
at him as he stepped closer, and he nodded his assent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After patrolling with Buffy's friends, Riley decided he needed a stiff
drink. He had no idea why she kept them around. They couldn't even do a
simple patrol without messing up. It was no wonder that Buffy had been
staked the night before. She lacked discipline. Riley knew all he had
to do was get her away from her friends, and she would soon become a
much more efficient warrior.
Riley had his drink in hand, and he glanced around the Bronze until his
eyes fell on the familiar peroxide blond hair of the chipped Hostile
17. There's another problem with Buffy, he thought, Protecting
one of the creatures that she's supposed to kill. The ex-commando
blinked his eyes in surprise when he realized who the vampire's
companion was. Slayer business, my foot..
He moved away from the bar, and he circled the room until he could hear
their conversation without bringing notice to himself. When Spike
reached out to grab Buffy by the neck, Riley started forward until
Buffy brought her pool cue up to use as a weapon. Riley could hear
Spike as he began to speak to the Slayer.
"Lesson the first ... A Slayer always has to reach for her weapon." He
paused while he shifted into his game face. "I've already got mine."
Riley boiled in anger when he heard Buffy giggle in a way that she
never giggled for him. He curled his lip just before he took a long
drink from his glass. Riley was astonished at the cute little comment
that fell from Buffy's mouth.
"Do those make you feel all manly, Spike?" Buffy reached up and tapped
one of his fangs. She coyly smiled up into his demonic visage. She
purposely pricked the tip of her finger on one of the sharp points.
Spike's eyes widened. The look on Buffy's face told him that she knew
exactly what she did, and she did it on purpose. He answered her jest
with a chuckle to try to cover up the inner growl that called out to
him to suckle Buffy's finger for every last drop. He stepped away from
her a step or two.
Spike's answering chuckle caused their unseen eavesdropper to growl in
response. Riley watched while Spike shook off his game face, released
Buffy's neck, and returned to the pool table where he lined up a shot.
The ex-commando continued to listen while Spike apparently told Buffy
about a battle he had fought many years before. Then, the conversation
took a turn that Riley really didn't like.
"That used to be the best night of my life." Spike bit his lower lip
while he studied Buffy with slumberous eyes. "Till tonight, being here
with you like two human beings instead of enemies." He smirked when she
rolled her eyes at him.
"Why did you win, Spike?" Buffy asked. Her belly fluttered with a
different set of tinglies, but she tried to stay focused on her quest.
"You were only 20 and not even a master yet. Surely she should have
been able to take you?" She moved away from the pool table towards the
table that she and the vampire had vacated earlier.
Riley's eyes narrowed while he watched Spike press his hand into the
small of Buffy's back. He at least expected her to jerk away from the
vampire. When she didn't Riley started to suspect that there was truly
more going on here than she had led him to believe. I knew she was
too protective of him. Riley circled around so that he was standing
next to the staircase, but still out of sight from the unsuspecting duo.
"She was ready to die, Slayer," Spike said. He took a sip of the beer
that the waitress put down in front of him. "She had a death wish
because she had nothing but her duty to tie her to this life. You,
you're different. 've known that from the first moment I saw you out on
the dance floor." Spike pointed out at the people dancing.
Riley swung out from his hiding spot behind the stairs to confront the
blond duo. His jealousy got the best of him, especially when Buffy laid
her hand on Spike's arm while he was talking. "So this is your Slayer
business?" he sneered at Buffy.
Buffy's eyes opened in surprise. She hadn't been expecting to see Riley
that evening. "Yeah," Buffy replied a confused tone. "I wanted to know
how Slayers end up dying. It's not written about in the Watcher's
Diaries." She casually took a sip of her soda.
Riley stared pointedly at Spike, who kept his attention firmly fixed on
Buffy. "How exactly does Hostile 17 know about dead Slayers? And what
is it with you and vampires, Buffy? First Angel, then Dracula, and now
Spike." He stepped closer to the table when someone jostled him from
behind.
"Oh, I think you have the order wrong, commando boy. I was around long
before Drac showed his ugly face," Spike announced. He smirked at the
impotent rage that swept through the human male's posture.
"I don't know how you got a 'get out of jail' free card," Riley
snarled. "It's not like you've proven yourself like those so called
friends of Buffy's." He was so focused on the vampire that he failed to
notice that Buffy narrowed her eyes at his little speech.
Spike hooted with laughter. He turned to Buffy, and he asked, "You
haven't told him?" Then he turned back to the ex-commando. "The truth
is, I like this world."
"If you do the 'happy meals on legs' speech again, I'll break your
nose," Buffy growled.
"I like to stick to the classics, luv." Spike smirked at the Slayer.
"If you do the 'love's bitch' speech, I'll break your leg," Buffy
growled again. "Once was more than enough. Dog racing, Manchester U,
blah, blah. Life is blood, shagging and hating, blah, blah. We've heard
it before." She crossed her arms, and she glared at the vampire. She
wasn't really all that upset, she just didn't want to hear either of
those particular speeches again. They only lead to badness. They
reminded her of times in her life that she wished she could forget.
Spike took in Riley's jealous glances between himself and Buffy. Of
course nothing was ever said about me. Captain Cardboard never asked. I
bet the git has vamp envy. Out loud, he said, "We might know, but
it's obvious your sweetie bear here doesn't."
"Well, he never really asked," Buffy announced indignantly. "Besides,
you remember how crazy he got when he found out about Angel."
"Well, then let's tell him now," Spike grumbled. "It's only fair, since
I know all about him."
"Yes, let's do," Riley muttered contemptuously. "What exactly is your
history with Spike? You were engaged to him. Did you fuck him, too?"
Spike blinked at the ex-commando's crudeness. His eyes darted to the
Slayer's face where he noticed an angry flush over take her cheeks.
"Oh, you're a dead man now, soldier boy," Spike crowed.
"I mean, you fucked Angel, and you tried to fuck Drac," Riley sneered.
"What's one more bloodsucker?" He failed to notice just how fuming mad
his soon to be ex-girlfriend was becoming. If he had he would have
considered running for his life.
"Slayer, mind you don't maim the boy too badly," Spike snarked. He was
relieved it was going to be someone else on the end of Buffy's fist for
a change.
"She won't hurt me," Riley announced confidently. "I'm her boyfriend."
He stared at Spike when the vampire began to laugh loudly.
"Oh, soldier boy. You really think you know the Slayer well, don't
you?" Spike chortled. "She stabbed old Angelus through the guts and
sent him to hell, and he was the love of her bloody life. I'd say you
letting your big mouth overload your large sized arse warrants at least
a beheading." He glanced at Buffy to gauge her reaction to his
announcement. The vampire was pleased to see that she didn't appear in
the least upset with him, just the overgrown hall monitor.
"You never mentioned guts and hell along with Angel's name," Riley
grumbled.
"Spike, you really want that broken leg, don't you?" Buffy turned her
attention back to the blond vampire. "Because that speech worked so
well last time."
"Pfft! Do you see Peaches in the immediate vicinity, Slayer?" Spike
snarked. "I'd say it went over just fine, for me at least." Spike
noticed that Buffy was out of soda, and he signaled the waitress to
bring her another drink.
"Were you always this big of a pain in the ass?" Riley scoffed. He
failed to notice the Scoobies enter the Bronze, and come to stand
behind him.
"What can I say, git? I've always been bad," Spike mocked, "But at
least I was a gentleman unlike some people I could mention." He arched
an eyebrow at the Slayer to indicate that her friends were
eavesdropping.
"A gentleman? You?" Riley taunted. "You're about as far from being a
gentleman as a monster can get."
"My mom thinks he's a gentleman," Buffy interjected. She tilted her
head to the side, and she studied Riley. Had he always been this
jealous and prejudiced? Was this how she acted as well? She shivered
and hoped that she never looked this stupid.
"That's right. Joyce thinks I'm a gentleman." Spike smirked at Buffy.
"She says she wishes more young men were like me these days. By the
way, Captain Cardboard, when was the last time you stopped in to say
'hi' to the Slayer's mom?"
"I'm sure it's only because she doesn't know the real you," Riley
jeered.
Spike and Buffy began to laugh at the looks on the Scoobies faces
behind Riley. They could see Willow and Xander whispering into their
girlfriends' ears. Between guffaws, Spike spit out, "First time I met
Joyce she whacked me over the head with an axe. Oh, she knows the real
me."
"At least she didn't get the death threat," Buffy giggled. She smiled
at the startled waitress who was putting a Diet Coke down in front of
the Slayer.
It dawned on Riley that he had never asked how Buffy had met Hostile
17. He'd always assumed that the vampire had heard about the Slayer
being in Sunnydale and had hoped the girl would take pity on a neutered
vamp. Maybe there was more to this story than he had ever imagined.
"Where did you two meet?" Riley said accusingly.
"In the alley back there." Buffy turned to point towards the back door
of the Bronze. "It was my junior year right before Parent/Teacher
night." She turned back to the vampire. "You know, I've never thanked
you for getting me out of being grounded."
"Glad I could of be of service, luv."
"Anyway, some man yelled that that there was a guy trying to bite
someone in the alley."
"That man was me." Spike smirked.
Buffy glared at Spike playfully. "There was a big ugly vamp outside."
"Stupid git said he was at the Crucifixion."
"He yelled Slayer, and I said Slayee."
"Witty repertoire there, luv," Spike said mockingly.
"Then Xander went back in for a stake."
"Whelp!" Spike winked at the red faced male in question.
"Would you quite interrupting me?"
"Nope."
Buffy ignored the vampire, and she continued the storytelling. "We
fought for a bit, and then the vamp yelled 'Help me, Spike."
"Stupid sod."
"Xander came back out with the stake which he tossed to me, and I
dusted the vampire." Buffy raised her eyebrow at Spike when he started
clapping.
"Nice work, luv."
"I said, 'Who are you?"
"You'll find out Saturday."
"What happens Saturday?
"I kill you. Of course that didn't work out quite as planned, did it?"
"You're flirting with him!" Riley screamed. "You're flirting with an
evil bloodsucking fiend!" Spit flew out of his mouth, and Spike made an
exaggerated deal out of wiping his eye.
Buffy's eyes drifted to her snickering friends, and she quickly changed
the subject from her and Spike to Riley. "I thought you said you'd be
patrolling tonight with the gang?"
"Oh, I patrolled with your 'gang'," Riley said sarcastically. He used
air quotes when he said the word gang. "They can't fight their way out
of a wet paper sack. Not to mention they're noisy, and Xander screams
like a girl when confronted by a vampire. You would be a much better
fighter if you got rid of your extra baggage." The ex-commando looked
pointedly at the blond vampire seated across from the Slayer.
"My friends are not extra baggage!" Buffy exclaimed. She jumped to her
feet and stood with her hands on her hips. "We're talking about two
powerful witches, a thousand year old ex-demon, and Xander, who has
been with me since the very first day in Sunnydale. He's taken out more
vampires and demons than you have!" She smiled at her friends over
Riley's shoulder.
Riley gave the Scoobies a startled, fleeting glance before he
contemptuously asked, "What about him?" He looked the vampire
up and down as if Spike was somehow beneath him.
Buffy advanced on Riley. "He is not your concern." She poked him the
chest to emphasize every word she said. "He has more power and
knowledge in his pinky finger than you have in your whole body. If you
hadn't shoved that chip into his brain, I've half a mind to let him
show you just exactly why I want him on my side."
"If he somehow loses the chip, he'll sneak into your mom's house and
kill her and Dawn," Riley declared. He knew about the vampire's
invitation into Joyce's house, and that still astounded him.
"Spike was in mom's house twice before the chip, and he neglected to
hurt either of them both times," Buffy smirked.
"You know, Buffy. You're not the girl I thought you were." Riley stood
up straight in an attempt to intimidate the much smaller female. "You
say you love me, yet you neglect me for your friends, your mother and
...hell, even Spike gets more of your attention than I do."
"You're almost right, Riley. I'm not the girl you want me
to be." Buffy gestured to her friends to join her. "I'm who I always
was. Buffy. Slayer. Maker of my own rules. I don't follow orders, just
ask Giles. Mostly though, I don't respond well to negative comments or
actions about my mother or sister, my friends ... or who I choose to
spend my free time with."
Spike chuckled. He waggled his eyebrows at the Scoobies before he
turned his attention to Riley. "Don't make her mad, mate. You won't
like her when she's mad, and never under estimate the power of a
brassed off Slayer."
"Yeah, when Deadboy Jr here did," Xander snarked, "He spent four months
in a wheelchair."
"Hey now! That involved a church organ and a fire," Spike volleyed in
return. "Wasn't just the Slayer."
"The worm man," Xander reminisced. "Good times for all." He plopped
down in the chair that Buffy had vacated. "Really not one of your
better plans, Captain Peroxide."
"I had to do something to keep Buffy occupied," Spike sipped his beer.
"Didn't want her interfering with my plans for the poofter. 'Sides I
knew she'd make short work of the assassins. Slayer's too crafty for
the likes of the Order of Taraka."
"Spike does have a point. Neither of them seemed to get the upper hand
for long, It was like Superman and Lex Luther, arch rivals to the end,"
Willow interjected. She squeezed Tara's hand while she smiled gently at
the other girl.
"Go Will, with the DC comic reference," Xander chuckled. "I taught
you well, grasshopper."
"But hey," Willow continued brightly. "You guys teamed up against
Angelus and Dru. You guys became apocalypse buddies, and we know we can
always count on Spike's help against world endangerment. You know, for
Christmas and puppy dogs and..."
"I already told Spike I'd break his nose if he did the 'happy meals on
legs' speech," Buffy announced. She kept her eye on Riley. "Don't go
riling up the resident vamp." She inched towards Spike until she was
standing behind his chair.
With her usual lack of tact, Anya asked, "Buffy, why were you here with
Spike?" She appeared to be oblivious to the dirty look that Riley sent
her direction.
"Giles and I were researching Slayer's deaths," Buffy muttered. She
glanced hesitantly at her friends. They knew she had been hurt during
patrol, but not how badly.
"Well, Spike is the perfect one to ask then, isn't he?" Anya's eyes
fell on the tray of a passing waitress. "Oh, I want one of those pink
drinks with the umbrella. Be right back." She whirled around to follow
the waitress.
Xander watched her traipse off, his gaze filled with mirth. That's
my An.
He turned his attention back to the others. Xander suddenly realized
that if it hadn't been for Spike, Anya would never have come into his
life.
Riley stared at Buffy's friends who were pulling chairs up to the
table, apparently unconcerned that they were sharing the table with
vampire. His anger rose steadily as he heard Xander actually thank the
creature for inadvertently bringing his girlfriend into his life.
Jealousy flared when Spike easily chatted with Buffy's friends,
something he had never been comfortable with. Then Buffy asked about
New York, and the vampire began his tale.
"The first one was all business," Spike stated, "The Jamaican bint that
Dru killed reminded me a lot of her. She knew her techniques, but
lacked fire. The one in New York was a lot like you, luv." Spike spoke
directly to Buffy. "Very cunning, very resourceful."
"She'd been a Slayer almost four years by then," Buffy sighed. "Giles
told us all this when you first came to town. Was that why she ...
lost?"
"Part of it, 'm sure," Spike said. "But she had a kid with her when I
saw her in the park. Somehow I got the impression she was a single
parent. As your mum can tell you, that's no piece of cake." He looked
around the table at the Scoobies; Willow and Tara quietly holding hands
while they listened to him, and Xander and Anya fighting over the
umbrella from her drink. "Probably wasn't enough ties to hold her to
this world. Your mum, Niblet, the Scoobies," He pointed at the friends
surrounding Buffy, "They're what keep you goin', pet."
"I think you're full of shit, Spike," Riley gasped. "Buffy, leave here
with me now, and we'll forget all this nonsense. These people are what
distracted you from your slaying last night." He attempted to reach out
and grab Buffy's arm, but she quickly sidestepped out of his reach.
Buffy turned her furious attention towards Riley. "No, I don't think
so. I think it was you that distracted me from my slaying. I don't
think this is working out, Riley. Maybe we shouldn't see each other any
more." She stood with her fists on her hips.
"Oh, so you can hang out with vampires, talking about the good old
days? Or is it something more?" Riley asked jealously. He tried to grab
Buffy's arm, again, but backed off in the face of Scoobie solidarity.
"I should have dumped you as soon as I found out about Angel. You're
nothing but a demon whore."
Riley found himself dazed on the floor with an aching cheek. He
wondered what the hell had hit him. When he looked up, Buffy was
clutching her side while leaning heavily on Spike. There was no welcome
on any of the Scoobies' faces at him.
"Get out of my town, Riley," Buffy spat out from between gritted teeth.
"If any of us ever see you again..."
Riley scrambled to his feet and left the Bronze without a backward
glance. He didn't need this kind of shit. Besides, Graham had mentioned
that the unit could use a good man in Belize. Maybe he'd give the
military a call and ask for his old job back. That was always a good
thing. In his anger the young man failed to notice the dark haired
woman shadowing his every move.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy sat on the back porch with her mind reeling. She had just found
out that her mother had to go in for some 'tests'. Buffy had tried to
be brave while facing her mother, but now that she was alone there was
nothing to stop her uncontrollable sobbing. I wish Spike would
hurry back from his crypt, she thought while she put her face down
into her hands on her lap.
Spike strode out of the bushes towards the Slayer. He had told Harmony
to be gone by morning, or he'd finally stake her good and proper, once
and for all. His step faltered when Buffy looked up at him with tear
filled eyes. "Did that pillock come back to harass you, luv?"
Buffy shook her head meekly, and she mewled weakly, "Oh Spike." When
the vampire rushed across the yard to sit down on the step beside her,
the Slayer crawled into his lap, and she sobbed into his chest. "My
mom..."
Spike held his Slayer close while he gave her what little comfort he
could while he listened to her sob. He held her close while she allowed
him to be her strength for just a short while.