A sodding week and nothing.

He thought the kiss had been a good one - but two minutes after it had ended she'd bolted out of the flat without a by your leave. Spike growled and punched the claw handed vampire in the face and then kicked him in the balls for good measure. He was getting bored with the fight. 'Where was the bloody Slayer? She should be doing her job, not me.'

"Spike, what are you doing?"

The blond vampire rolled his eyes and then punched his hand through the chest of his opponent, ripping its shrivelled little heart out and throwing it over his shoulder. He watched in satisfaction as its owner turned into a nice pile of dust with one final howl. He glanced over his shoulder and grunted at Angel in greeting. "What the ruddy hell does it look like, Peaches? I'm staking a naughty vampire who was after the Slayer, not stalking around with my hand in my pockets fiddling with my meat and two veg."

"But that's the vampire I warned Buffy about. Why did you kill it?"

"Are you daft or something? Warned her? Why didn't you just dust him and that would be the end of it? You great pillock." Spike scrabbled through his pockets and lit a much-needed fag. He glared at Angel, steam practically pouring out of his ears. "You do realise she's not in this fight alone anymore?"

Angel glanced up the darkened street, uncomfortable about being called on his actions. He frowned for a second, positive he had seen something move in the shadows under a tree. Before he could answer, Spike growled. He didn't want to admit to Spike that he was still not fighting fit, something he and Whistler had worked on before he moved here. But now, he felt about as useful as Xander in a math lesson. .

"For god's sake, enough with the lurking in alleyways and start helping the chit, that's what you were tapped to do." He omitted adding that he was as well, even though it was more than obvious. Spike puffed furiously on his cigarette and stalked off down the street with Angel tagging on after him.

"Wait for me!" he panted.

"As if I could shake you from my side," Spike muttered.

So caught up in their usual bickering, neither of them noticed their two silent observers.

~~~~~~~

"Buffy, you need to put more of a spin on that roundhouse kick," Giles grunted as she kicked the padded cushion he was holding. "Much better, try a spin and a dip with the next kick." Buffy nodded and narrowed her eyes in concentration; she bounced on the balls of her feet and then spun and kicked out, only to have her ankle caught in a firm cool grip.

"Hullo there, cutie."

She shivered at the sound of his voice, the same voice that had been haunting her dreams ever since she'd run away that night.

"I say, unhand her," Giles spluttered. He frowned at the interloper who was distracting his ward. It had taken several months to get her in line and training with him without argument, but even now any small distraction was a worry. Initially he had despaired that Buffy would have ever taken advice from him, let alone train. Not after their disastrous first meeting and her initial reluctance to follow her calling. And now this. Giles's eyes narrowed at the sight of the black clad man holding his charge's ankle.

"Chill, Giles. This is the guy who saved me last week." Buffy was surprised as to how strong her voice sounded. She frowned at her trapped ankle, acutely aware she was standing on one leg. "If I can have my leg back?" She shivered slightly as his cool fingers gently caressed her anklebone.

His lips curled into a teasing smile. "Make me." Both the blonds ignored Giles muttering under his breath about hormones and the almost inevitable squeak of cloth on glass.

Buffy arched an eyebrow at him and reluctantly wrenched her leg free from his loose grasp. "So...uh ...what are you doing here?" She resisted the urge to rub her skin where his fingers had caressed her, the remaining tingle making her feel all flushed.

Spike tucked his duster around him and collapsed into a library chair. "Well, I'd heard quite a bit about this place and thought I better do the right thing and come and be all friendly like with your Watcher."

"And why would I be friendly with you? As far as I am concerned you are a vampire." Giles replaced his glasses and frowned at Spike. "I may wear glasses, but I can assure you I am not blind."

"Giles," Buffy admonished. "I told you he saved me."

"Yes and why was that exactly? Buffy has not made that very clear to me or the others." Giles sat down opposite the silent vampire and waited for a reply. Spike slouched in his seat and hooked his thumbs in the buckle of his belt and sighed. This was it, from now on there was no turning back. Dru's wish was about to kick into full effect and surprisingly there was little hesitation on his behalf.

"Simple, I was cursed. My ex made a wish to a vengeance demon, asking for me to follow the light and here I am."

"Ex?"

"Cursed to follow the light? That's a bit ambiguous."

Spike smiled at Buffy. He took in the flash of anger and jealousy at his mention of Dru, turning it over in his mind until he decided that he thought it was pretty cute.

"The ex has a bit of a seer in her, think she saw something about me in the future and that's why she threw a wobbler and had me cursed...and that led to me being here. She's a tad bit off with her timing and whatnot, but as far as I can see, the Slayer here is the light and I am supposed to follow her."

It'd taken several bottles of whiskey and a lot of self-reflection—something he wasn't prone to in the past—but eventually he realised that Dru had seen something in his future and flipped out. Calling for vengeance on events that hadn't yet occurred catapulted him here, moving everything along a lot faster than originally fated. Now that he'd had a taste of her lips, Spike was determined to move things along at his own pace for a while. That was why he'd come to the library and bearded the Slayer and her Watcher in her den.

"Ex?"

Spike looked over at Buffy with a smirk. "Yeah. Ex." Never in his unlife had he expected to be so dismissive of Dru. As far as he'd been concerned, the moment her fangs sank through his flesh, he was hers for all eternity. Well, she'd decided not and it had stung. So now he was forced to make a new life and new fate for himself. If it meant fighting with the Slayer then so be it, he'd never realised how much more fun it was fighting demons. They offered much more of a challenge than mortals, usually more often than not screamers that gave in.

"I have to say, I know only a little about vengeance demons, but I do know that once cursed the individual has to fulfil the wish. So, what? Now you go from killing us to saving us? Just like that?" Giles asked calmly. Buffy stared at Spike, her mouth set in a firm line, waiting to hear what he'd say.

"When Spike starts something, he doesn't stop. If he says that he's here to fight, then he will. I can vouch for him."

"Angel." Buffy flushed bright red as guilt filled her. Ever since that kiss, she had not known what to do about Angel. There was some sparkage there still, but Spike had turned everything around and she was so confused. She didn't realise that Spike was watching every nuance of her face and body and storing her reactions to his Grandpops for later pondering. The over-observant vampire suppressed a smile – she was not sure about the brooder anymore.

"Hi, Buffy." The souled vamp smiled briefly at her and then focussed on Spike. "What's going on?"

"I came here to be nice and friendly-like, let the Watcher know that I was around and helpin' out." Spike raised an eyebrow at Angel, wondering what on earth the great brooder was going to say and do. He was one for non-confrontation and lurking, not direct action. So his support had shocked the socks off him.

Before anyone could say anything else, the library doors swung open and Willow and Xander clattered in chattering to each other excitedly. No one noticed the grimace on Angel's face and his disappearance into the stacks.

"Kinda heavy with the tension there, G-man." Xander ambled over to the table, ignoring Giles' spluttered rebuke and nodded amiably at Spike. "Hey, new guy." He reached over and offered his hand to the bemused vampire. "Whoa, cold hands. Hey no worries man, you know what they say. Cold hands, warm – oh my god, you're a vampire!"

"Bright spark, that one." Spike smirked over at Buffy and ignored the squawking issuing from Xander.

Willow flushed bright red and nudged Buffy none too subtly and whispered something in the Slayer's ear. Buffy's ears turned red as she nodded and then gave Willow an evil look and shushed her.

'Best kiss of her life, was it?' Spike trained his face into a neutral expression and pretended to watch Giles calm Xander down. He scanned around the library wondering where Peaches had vanished to.

"Make him swear on a stack of bibles that he won't bite me," Xander demanded. Despite the comment there was a surprising gleam of humour in his eyes.

"You utter nit." Spike shook his head and tried not to smile at Xander's antics.

"Xander, do grow up!" Giles admonished and glanced around him in surprise. "I say, where did he go?" Spike shrugged. He could still sense his pain in the arse grandsire lurking in the stacks, but decided to keep quiet. If he didn't want to be here, soaking up the Slayer's sweet scent, then who was he to let the cat out of the bag?

"Sure G-man, tell a high schooler to act mature, that's gonna work." Xander pushed his heavy fringe off his forehead and gave Giles an amiable grin.

Spike snorted and then glanced surreptitiously over at the two girls whispering together. His thick lashes masked his azure eyes as he soaked in her beauty, unaware of her Watcher cataloguing his every move and sigh.

"Who?" Xander sat down opposite Spike and very obviously fiddled with a large crucifix that lay on the research table.

"Angel." Giles looked around, slightly discomforted by the behaviour of the dark haired vampire. He focussed on this, rather than the sneaked glances of what he was hoping was not attraction being exchanged by his ward and the newcomer.

"Need to look into putting a bell on him." Both Xander and Spike spoke at the same time, then they looked at each other and exchanged what could only be a grin. They had found common ground, something beyond vampires and mortals. Angel dislike. Spike leant back in his chair, laced his fingers behind his head and smirked at Xander. The teenager responded with a lopsided grin.

Spike had scented the instant dislike and jealousy on the boy as soon as Angel had appeared. Something that he wasn't above himself and it had him quite chuffed that he had found a potential ally in the battle against the annoying Angel shaped pain in his arse. The observant vampire realised that this boy could either be a stumbling block or an ally. He decided that it would make his life easier of it were the latter.

"Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, mate." He arched a heavy brow at Xander and waited for a beat before turning to Giles. "He's gone, can't sense him." Angel had slunk off while Giles had told off Xander. Spike guessed that crowds still discomforted his elder and was not too concerned about helping him out. Not if it meant he wasn't around the Slayer. She was his. Slayer might not know it yet. But soon, she'd be all too aware of him and what they could have. Dru didn't want him, that much was slowly becoming clear and the chit flirting with him through her lashes seemed to if her kiss and whispered admissions to her girlie were anything to go by.

"Oi, don't poke me with that," Spike growled. Surprised that the whelp had caught him unaware and managed to prod him with the tip of the crucifix he'd been fiddling with.

"Friendship? You and me? Vamp and moist edible human? Making with the friendlies – as if!" Xander rolled his eyes and chuckled. Part of him was aching to make nice with the vamp who had the mutual hatred for Angel, but a bigger part of him could still see Jesse dusting on the end of his stake. The same stake he had hidden away under his bed with his Spiderman comics.

"Why not? We can taunt the Poof with pop culture references. It's not like he'd get any of them!" Spike rocked back on his chair and pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth. The boy was nearly hooked but there was something blocking him. He could almost taste the wanting to be buddies and realised that it was going to involve a bit of work.

"Spike, be careful, you might fall on your ass," Buffy interrupted the testosterone display between the two of them. She brushed past Willow and pushed the chair he was rocking on with a bang. "And don't be mean to Angel," she added absently and then whirled round and pinned Xander with a glare when he laughed. "You too, Xander." Spike's eyes darkened at the lingering touch of her slender fingers on the nape of his neck.

'Oh, curls of Spike.' Buffy gulped and snatched her hand away before she began to pet him like a big cat. Her slayer hearing, unlike the others, had not missed the near silent purrs that erupted from his chest from her unconscious touch.

"Umm, Buffy, so Bronzing tonight before patrol?" Willow managed to control her nerves long enough to diffuse the hormone filled flirtage that was filling the library.

"Oh yeah, Mom bought me the cutest outfit on Saturday. I am sooo wanting to show that one off. I bet Cordy will be all with the envy." Buffy began to babble excitedly about strappy sandals and hair products, unaware of the by play between Spike and Xander. Neither girl was listening to Giles muttering about the sacred duty of a Slayer not entailing dressing up like trollops and wriggling around on the dance floor to rubbish music.

"Sheesh, women," Xander whispered to Spike, unconsciously taking the first step into a friendship that would change his outlook on life, the universe and everything.