Spike listened with half and ear as the Scooby gang discussed their options. Willow was suggesting Amy venture out to LA and try a truth spell on Drusilla to pry something more useful on the vampiress, since the group still hadn't been able to come up with much on this end. Plus, there was the added uncertainty of what exactly the alteration of the original spellcasting may have resulted in, since it was Faith's blood that had been used, not Buffy's and Dru's blood that had been offered, not Spike's.
Reaching for his smokes, Spike was about to excuse himself, when he realized his carton was empty. Silently cursing, and no longer interested in the discussion occurring between the mortals, he reached into his other pocket, silently hoping he hadn't used up the few extra cigarettes he had stuck in there several weeks ago.
His fingers closed around the familiar object of his search and he smiled with relief as he withdrew it, then frowned slightly as a small folded piece of paper emerged with the smoke. Sticking the unlit cigarette in his mouth, he stared blankly at the paper then unfolded it. There was only one thing written on it, and it only confused him further.
'If a balance has shifted, weight must be removed from the heavier side of the scale, or added to the lighter side.'
Shrugging to himself, he stuffed the piece of nonsense into the empty cigarette carton, and dumped the whole thing into the trash bin before heading for the door. He was reaching down to turn the handle, when Angel came barging in.
"Giles!" the older vampire called out, rushing in and searching the room frantically, "Is Buffy here yet?"
Spike pursed his lips as he plucked the cigarette from his mouth, looked down at it, looked out the door his sire had left open, then looked over at the obviously panicked vampire pacing the floor nervously. With a barely repressed sigh, he re-pocketed his smoke, shut the door and turned around to listen to whatever it was Angel was going to share with them.
"It's Buffy," Angel was saying, "I was supposed to meet her on campus and do a quick patrol with her before coming here, but when I got there she was a no show." Spike tensed slightly at the news, whether it was out of jealously that the Slayer had wanted to meet with Angel, or out of concern that she had obviously not, he wasn't yet sure. "I waited there until just a few minutes ago, then checked out her room - there was no sign of her anywhere... I was hoping she might have come here..."
"She hasn't come by yet," Giles replied, removing his glasses wearily, "-but I've come to learn that she rarely maintains a strict schedule. There is probably no cause for alarm just yet, but still," he looked over at the assembled group, "Oz, why don't you and Willow do a quick sweep of her usual patrol route, Spike, perhaps you and Angel will be able to determine where she might have gotten to if she encountered an unanticipated problem. The rest of us shall continue researching here in case she does show up while you're gone."
Nodding, Spike held the door open as the other three exited, then followed after Angel as they headed in the opposite direction of the two mortals. They made their way through the seedier part of town, Spike watching curiously while Angel made his inquiries. For his part, Spike wasn't overly worried - he knew from experience that there wasn't much the Slayer couldn't handle on her own, and most of the bigger problems the group faced tended not to crop up with such a suddenness. Of course, with everyone so busy trying to figure out exactly what kind of effects to expect from Dru's spell, it was possible that they'd missed a prophecy...
"She still hasn't shown up." Angel informed him tightly, as he exited the phone booth they had stopped at to check in with Giles. Spike glanced at his watch, feeling the smallest tendrils of worry work their way through him at long last. It was well past midnight - if Buffy knew she was going to be going to Giles' she usually didn't like showing up this late... "Come on, let's keep looking."
Nodding, Spike followed Angel blindly as they made their way down empty streets, his senses alert for any trace of the Slayer. He had pretty much decided to ignore his feelings of love for Buffy in the hopes that given time they would eventually go away, but faced with the steadily growing fear that something might have actually happened to her while he hadn't been around to back her up was making those emotions hard to ignore.
He didn't even realize where Angel had led them until he found himself staring at the mansion. Angel started off towards the front door, and Spike stared after him - what did the big prick hope to accomplish here? It was highly doubtful that the Slayer had wound up here of all places... Tensing as suddenly her familiar scent hit his nostrils, he took off after Angel, stopping the older vampire and silently motioning for him to sniff the air. Angel gave him a curt nod, then continued on towards the door, Spike following close behind.
They entered quietly, slipping from room to room, carefully looking out for any sign of activity, but found none.
"I think the place is empty." Angel finally observed as they completed their search of the first floor.
"She's still here though." Spike murmured, glancing up the staircase and towards the upper level. Angel nodded in agreement as Spike started up the stairs.
"So, you've finally fallen in love with her, huh?" Angel commented casually as they reached the top landing.
Spike closed his eyes and kicked open the first door. He'd been hoping Buffy's disappearance might have distracted the big poof from their encounter last night. Obviously not. "Nah, I saw what happened between you two love birds - I'll have none of that thank you." Spike answered flippantly as he scanned the empty room and moved towards the next one. Maybe he'd be able to joke his way out of last night's slip...
"She loves you, you know." Angel persisted. Kicking in the next door, Spike kept his back to Angel, refusing to allow his sire the satisfaction of seeing the smile plastered to his face. He thought that was what she had said... he momentarily wondered how Angel had come into that tidbit of knowledge and when, then wondered why there didn't seem to be much jealousy in his voice, then pushed all thoughts from his mind, as he wiped the smile from his face and reminded himself that he'd already decided not to let himself fall into that kind of relationship with the young woman.
"That's nice," Spike muttered, brushing by Angel to get to the next door. "I don't." Hopefully the big ninny would shut up about the Slayer soon. What did it take to end this conversation already? The longer they stayed on this subject, the more likely it was that he'd make another stupid slip.
"Don't, or won't?" Angel's voice followed him as he searched the next room to no avail.
"I won't, because the whole bloody thing will only destroy one or both of us." Spike snapped. Two doors left. Only two doors, behind one of which a healthy and living Slayer would hopefully be found, then he could get away from soul-boy again.
Angel held him back before he could open the next door though, "Come on Spike, she's not going to live forever, we both know it - just say it. Once. Even if she never hears it, admit it to yourself once and for all."
Glaring up at his sire, Spike jerked himself out of Angel's grasp, stared at the closed door before him, then finally sighed and looked back at Angel. "How'd you do it? How'd you go on like this knowing she could die at any moment?"
Angel avoided his gaze, "I left."
Rolling his eyes, Spike kicked in the door, "You left because of the friggin' curse."
"Well yeah, that too I guess." Angel relented, glancing at the empty room over Spike's shoulder.
They moved on to the last door, Spike hesitated. She had to be in there, they'd checked everywhere else... "Say it." Angel urged softly from his side.
"Fine." Spike relented with a shake of his head, "I love her." He glanced over at Angel sideways, "Tell her though, and I'll stake you, consequences be damned."
Angel nodded and stepped aside as Spike reared back to kick the last door in, "It's enough that you've said it." he murmured softly.
Buffy closed her eyes, the only action she was currently capable of, in stunned silence as she heard the words filter through the small radio unit on the floor beside her. Spike loved her. He'd just said it aloud - he loved her! The joy that news should have filled her with was quickly replaced by dread though... Spike had just unknowingly sealed his own fate with those three words.
Angelus had rigged most of the mansion with bugs so that she'd be able to hear every word that was said between the two vampires, he'd also happily informed her that one of either Spike or herself would be dead by the end of the night. If Spike had've denied loving her - if he had've declared his hate for her instead, Angelus would have had him kill her. If, on the other hand Spike admitted to loving her, Angelus would stake him - in front of Buffy, who was currently completely unable to do a single thing to stop it from happening.
The chair she'd been tied to was bolted into the floor, her bindings were all too secure to allow her to break free - even if she could - and the spell Drusilla had cast over her, prevented her from moving a muscle - even to speak - until Spike entered the room. By then it would be too late though.
Only her eyes had remained un-enchanted, Angelus declaring that tonight's 'game' wouldn't be any fun if she was unable to clearly see what would be going on.
Her panic built within her as Spike and Angel stopped talking, and she closed her eyes yet again, trying to wrack her mind for some way out of this. Then it hit her. Part of Angelus' fun in this whole thing was making her sit idly by unable to anything but watch as either Spike killed her, or Angelus killed him.
Her plan might only buy her a few seconds - but with any luck, a few seconds would be enough...
Angelus reached into the pocket of his jacket as he gave Spike room to kick in the last door, his hand closing around the wooden stake. The door swung open with a bang as Spike stepped back hesitantly, offering Angelus first crack at getting to Buffy.
A wave of rage passed through him as he shook his head, forcing himself to graciously decline the offer. Had Spike grown so soft that he no longer even had it in him to properly claim a female he wanted?
He'd foolishly allowed his boy one last chance... no childe had ever challenged him quite like Spike had - such a shame that in the end, the fledgling with perhaps the greatest potential had allowed himself to fall so completely. All the others - as Penn had so blatantly demonstrated - had strived to become the terror that Angelus had been, but Spike, Spike had strived to make his own mark, even from the beginning.
Where the others had eagerly adapted Angelus' affinity for marking victims with religious symbols, young William had found a different calling card altogether. Where the others knew immediately to obey their master's commands to the letter, Spike had often added his own creative touch.
Standing back slightly, Angelus watched emotionlessly as Spike entered the room, then froze a look of concern marring his features. Stepping up behind the blonde vampire, Angelus raised his stake, glanced at Buffy and froze himself. Something was wrong. The stupid slut was supposed to be watching...
In his moment of hesitation, Spike had already rushed over to Buffy's side, calling out her name, and slapping her face before moving behind her to undo the ropes. Angelus cursed to himself. He hadn't anticipated Buffy daring not to look when Spike entered - especially after hearing the younger vampire's confession of love.
Quietly slipping from the room, Angelus quickly fled back out of the mansion. Alone, he wasn't prepared to take on both Buffy and Spike...
Pulling the first rope free, Spike was taken off guard when Buffy suddenly opened her eyes and turned her head towards him, "We've got to stop Angel!" she implored fervently, glancing over at the empty doorway where the older vampire had been standing only seconds ago.
"Angel?" Spike repeated aloud, wondering where the big moron had gone off too - probably to let Giles know Buffy was safe - but what was Buffy saying? Was whoever had kidnapped her still here? Was this a trap they'd walked into?
Undoing the rope binding her other wrist, Spike fell backwards as she jerked herself free and reached down to pull at the ropes binding her legs. "Angelus is in control right now - I don't think he can kill anyone himself, but we need to get find him before he and Drusilla cook up anymore unpleasant surprises for us." She continued explaining as Spike listened on with growing confusion.
Angel had been Angelus? Since when? For how long? Why hadn't he noticed?
"Quick, give me you cell." Buffy ordered as she stood and rubbed her wrists, "We need to call Giles - let him and everyone else know just in case Angelus tries going after one of them next."
Picking himself off the floor, Spike tossed her the phone and moved to the doorway, glancing down the hall, but knowing instinctively that if Angelus were indeed in charge right now, he'd have been long gone by now.
How could he not have recognized the change? How could he have let himself be duped so easily and so completely? Granted thoughts of Buffy had been distracting him quite a bit lately, but still - he'd spent a good couple hours roaming the town with his sire and hadn't noticed a thing.
The hand tugging on his sleeve drew him back to the present and he turned to accept the phone back from Buffy. Their hands brushed briefly as he took the cell from her, and their eyes immediately locked.
"Did you mean it?" Buffy finally asked softly, her hand still clinging to the phone as she searched his eyes.
He didn't have to ask what she was talking about as he lost himself in her searching gaze. The words wouldn't come out though, either to deny or confirm his confession to Angelus. She looked away, withdrawing her hand, and dropping her head, but before she could turn walk by him and out of the room, he grabbed her wrist and held her in place.
Again their eyes met, a shy hope, and heated desire filling her gaze as he slowly drew her nearer. His senses seemed to be overloading as he was entirely consumed by her - the sound of racing heart, the sweet smell of her arousal, the sight of her throbbing pulse on her temples and on either side of her neck, the feel of her warm skin... he closed his eyes as he leaned towards her, yearning suddenly to complete the assault on his senses - to taste her as he never had before - to kiss her like he'd wanted to since leaving her dorm the previous night.
Reality came crashing down on him as their lips touched, but this time he ignored it, delving hungrily into her mouth as her lips parted for him. Just one kiss, just one taste...
The hand holding her wrist released it in favour of wrapping itself around the back of her head, drawing her closer still, his other hand, fumbling to return the cell to his pocket before finding her waist, and working itself just underneath the bottom of her shirt to rub against her bare flesh beneath.
Her hands had found the flaps of his duster and were effectively keeping him glued to her - not that he had any immediate plans of letting go... and he lost himself once again to the power of her presence, very well aware of how quickly his own arousal was growing against her heat and her passion.
....Apparently, she was also very aware of his hardening member though too, as she repositioned herself slightly and rubbed her thigh against him slowly. He groaned into her mouth, suddenly glad for the wall behind him as he leaned backwards, allowing her tongue a chance to explore his mouth.
A faint ringing registered somewhere in the back of his mind, and Spike almost chuckled at the thought that the warning bells in his head were sounding off in such a distinct way... then he realized it was his phone ringing, not his head.
It was tempting to ignore the call, very tempting indeed as Buffy sucked his tongue back into her mouth and started tugging at the bottom of his tucked in t-shirt, but the only two people with his cell number were Buffy and Giles, and neither of them ever used it unless it was a dire emergency.
Cursing Giles' timing, Spike reluctantly pulled away from Buffy, untangling himself from her and swallowing heavily as he tried regaining some semblance of control. Buffy, looking down at his ringing pocket nestled her head against his shoulder, panting slightly, her arms wrapped around his waist.
Spike left on arm around her, holding her in place against him, then reached into his pocket to answer the phone with the other. Pulling himself and his mind back together, he flipped cleared his throat and answered.
Closing his eyes as Giles' voice filled him in on what the group had just discovered, Spike assured the former Watcher that he and Buffy would be over right away. There were definitely days he hated the Hellmouth and its timing, and this, as every other day he'd spent here since first stepping foot in the town was one of them...
Glancing down at the passion-filled gaze Buffy was favouring him with, he amended that thought - for that one kiss, maybe he could forgive the Hellmouth's bad timing just this once...
"I take it we need to take a rain check on lusty make-out session?" she asked with a hint of a smile.
Spike stared at her and offered a half-smile - rain check? He needed to have his head examined for this one make-out session. Whatever happened to his resolve to ignore his feelings for her anyway? He bit back a groan, his senses still flooded with her essence, she had happened to his resolve, and so help him, the next time he got his hands on her like this, nothing short of final death was going to stop him from finishing what they started.
"Yeah. Rain check." he agreed, brushing his lips against her forehead, before reaching for her hand and leading them out of the mansion.
Buffy stared down at their joined hands as she followed Spike out of the mansion and back towards Giles'. She couldn't believe he'd just kissed her... she couldn't believe how much she'd liked it! If only Giles hadn't interrupted... the thought died before she even managed to complete it - what was she thinking?!
Angel - "her" Angel was going through some inconsistent and unpredictable personality switches with Angelus, and all she could think about was Spike - his tongue sweeping her mouth sensuously, hungrily; his cool touch on her waist as his hand slid higher and higher up her side against her skin...
Running her tongue over her teeth, she could still almost feel him - taste him... there was nothing she wanted more right now then to just yank them off the sidewalk and into the bushes to finish what they'd started... but she couldn't. She had her duty - duty? "Duty"?? What was wrong with her? This was not just her "duty" - this was Angel, her first love, her... well, her... Angel.
Suddenly she realized something else: although it was Angelus who had found out about her feelings for Spike - Angel would also, by default, know - or at least he would know just as soon as he regained control... How calmly was he bound to take the revelation? She could still remember his reaction to Riley - and Riley had almost been the very boyfriend Angel had wanted her to find when he'd left for LA.
Spike slowed them to a stop suddenly, and Buffy shook herself back out of her thoughts and looked around. They were here, at the foot of driveway. Almost automatically, she withdrew her hand from Spike's, unable to read his expression as he let her go, then tuned to face him.
"You know, just in case whatever they've found doesn't pan out, and Angelus and Dru figure out way to keep Angelus around, we might have to eventually kill one or both of them..." she told him, wanting to get this cleared up once and for all, before they found themselves at odds with each other before they even got a chance to explore where they were headed together.
Spike nodded, looking off into the darkness, "I won't take a dive of the deep end if you have to off Dru." he assured her. There was something in his voice though, in his look, that suggested otherwise, but whatever it was it disappeared again in seconds, causing her to wonder if she'd just been paranoid out of jealously because of how young this relationship was between them... whoa! Buffy blinked in surprise: relationship? Where had that come from? One kiss hardly made this a relationship... besides, even though she knew that too much had happened between herself and Angel for them to ignore, there would always be a part of her that loved him - and that had been a love that had begun and ended in the span of two short years, so how could she not expect Spike to continue harbouring feelings towards Drusilla - the vampiress he had loved for nearly a century?
Her life was way to complicated.
"Me too." she finally managed to mumble out. "I mean if we have to... you know... Angel-us." Spike looked back towards her an understanding in his eyes at the discomfort and reluctance in her voice.
"Well, shall we?" Spike motioned towards the door as the two of them continued standing there together at the end of the driveway.
Giving him a nod, Buffy preceded him to the door, hoping that it wouldn't be too obvious to her friends that her... relationship... with Spike had just taken a new turn. It was bad enough having to tell them that he was no longer under the influence of the implant - she had no desire to have to drop them with this new bombshell so soon afterwards.
Taking a few calming breaths, Buffy opened the door and stepped in, making her way to the table as she felt Spike move past her to stand opposite her against the wall separating the living room from the kitchenette.
"So, what's the big news?" she asked, taking a seat, and glancing at the others gathered there.
Spike was trying very hard to focus on what Giles and Amy were sharing with everyone - he really was - but his mind kept drifting back to the Slayer - back to that kiss - back to the overwhelming desire that one little act had ignited. He knew he'd promised himself that it would be just that one kiss, just that one taste - but so help him, it had only wet his appetite and left him hungry for more. As it was, it was all he could do to keep himself from grabbing her right here and now and carting her up to her former Watcher's room and finally acting out those fantasies he'd been having lately.
Amy's voice finally cut through to him though, which he found to be a relief given the physical effects his current train of thoughts were inducing on the lower regions of his anatomy, "...instead," the dark-haired girl was saying, "-we think she only managed to shift the balance of power. So, Angelus was able to get out again, but Angel's soul is still firmly rooted in his body, which is why he seems to jump back and forth between the two 'personalities', and why each 'personality' is able to affect the other more strongly even if they aren't the ones in charge." She paused for a moment, giving everyone a chance to let that sink in, "From what Spike and Wesley and Angel himself have told us, we figure the trigger for Angelus is any kind of weariness on Angel's part - just before Angel falls asleep for example, Angelus is able to free himself. The trigger for Angel, on the other hand seems related to deeply violent actions carried out by Angelus - so if Angelus tries to kill, Angel essentially panics strongly enough to regain control."
"Basically, what you're saying is that all we have to do is wait for Angelus to try killing someone, and we'll have Angel back?" Xander asked from his seat on the sofa beside Anya. Amy nodded. "Great! Then we won't have all that long to wait, cause we all know how much Angelus values life."
"It's not that simple," Buffy spoke up with a sigh, "I think Angelus knows what his limits are - to keep himself in the driver's seat, he'll refrain from killing unless he can make it really worth it."
She was thinking of tonight, Spike could tell, of the little set up Angelus had planned at the mansion... suddenly what exactly Amy had just said clicked in, and he leapt for the garbage bin, rummaging through its contents ignoring the strange looks his sudden search was inspiring.
Balance - what had Amy said? The balance had been shifted somehow... that paper he'd tossed out earlier - how could he have forgotten about it? That encounter he'd had with those two nonsense spewing sods the other day - it must not have been a delusion or a dream. They'd given him the bloody solution to the whole mess here, and he'd tossed the stupid scrap of paper in the soddin' rubbish bin!
Finding the empty cigarette carton, he flipped it open and retrieved the paper. 'If a balance has shifted, weight must be removed from the heavier side of the scale, or added to the lighter side.'
Okay... so how were they supposed to fix Angel? Take away Angelus' asserted strength over the body somehow, or add to Angel's strength?
"Spike?"
He looked up, slightly startled to see Buffy standing over him, peering over his shoulder at the note in his hand. Standing again, he handed her the note and started thinking, he couldn't think of a way to possibly weaken Angelus' strength, but if killing were such an abhorrent act for Angel that it was enough to give him a foothold again...
"Spike? I don't get it." Buffy frowned, looking blankly at the piece of paper in her hands and flipping it over. Amy, who had also risen to see what the fuss was about, plucked the paper from Buffy's hands and gave it a similarly confused glance.
"There's nothing here Spike, what's the big deal?" the witch asked bluntly.
Scowling, Spike snatched the paper back, the words were as clear as day - any moron with eyes should be able to read it - their meaning of course was a little on the vague side - especially if you didn't know what it was talking about... but then look at those two wankers who had given it to him; they hadn't exactly been the epitome of clarity themselves...
"It's the bloody solution to all this," Spike grumbled, waving the paper in front of the girls again, then looking at Amy, "You said the balance had shifted, between Angel and Angelus, right?" she nodded, her eyes following the paper with confusion, "Well, we have to figure out how to shift things in Angel's favour again then." Spike concluded, letting the paper fall back into the bin.
It wasn't until the words came out of his mouth that he realized fully what he'd just said. He wanted to help shift things in Angel's favour - not Angelus'. He really was going soft.
"I think I speak for us all, when I say: huh?" Xander commented into the brief silence that followed.
"He means we need to trick Angelus into killing someone so Angel will feel so guilty that he'll take over his body again for good." Anya supplied rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. Everyone turned to stare at her. "What?" she defended when she noticed everyone looking her way. "That's about the only way to shift things in Angel's favour, if killing is the only thing that brings him back to the surface."
"Oh, yeah. Good one, honey." Xander congratulated sarcastically, ignoring her glare, "Do we have any volunteers then? Anyone?"
Amy sighed as she sat back down at the table, "That might actually work." she muttered, "At least that way we'd manage to add fuel to Angel's motivation to stay in control."
"Guys!" Buffy exclaimed incredulously, looking around at everyone, "Can we stop for a minute and listen to ourselves? We're talking about finding someone for Angelus to kill just so Angel will be filled with enough guilt that he'll manage to regain enough control to weigh some metaphoric balance back in his favour!"
"We'll make it someone we all hate, then no one will miss them." Xander joked half- heartedly.
Amy shook her head and looked up suddenly, "Wait! Buffy you said earlier that Angelus was willing to kill either you or Spike right?" Buffy looked over at her and nodded slowly, "What exactly did he tell you before he went out to get Spike?"
Frowning, Buffy thought back, "He said that I had finally lost, that there'd be nothing I could do and no one else I could blame. Either Spike would come in and say... well, kill me for him, or Spike would... refuse and he'd kill Spike. Then he said..." she looked up suddenly, "... he said that Angel would probably get control again after that, but that just assured him victory, because none of us would be able to kill Angel for something "he" had done..."
Amy smiled, and Spike was pretty sure he didn't like where this was headed...
"Then killing Spike would have made Angel guilty enough to resurface." Amy nodded, "He didn't even realize that he might've sealed his fate if he had've succeeded." she continued, her smile growing. Everyone else looked at her blankly. "Think about it," she urged, the wheels spinning in her head, "-Angel always managed to stop Angelus from feeding to the point of death, but couldn't always manage to stop in time to stop the attack, right? To kill Spike though, he'd only need a split second to drive a stake home, and by the time Angel started fighting back, it'd be too late."
Now Spike was sure he didn't like where any of this was going.
"We're not letting Angelus kill Spike..." Buffy started, before he could even open his mouth. A small smile briefly threatened to curl his lips at the Slayer's immediate argument on his behalf.
"I'm not saying we let Angelus kill Spike," Amy shook her head, looking over towards Willow and Tara for support, "I'm just saying we let Angelus think he's killed Spike." The three witches smiled as everyone else looked back and forth between them waiting for their explanation.
Buffy sat quietly on the park bench beside the silent peroxide blonde vampire and wondered for the umpteenth time that evening why she had agreed to this. At least she'd convinced everyone to let her do this her way and on her own... there was no way she'd be able to do this knowing her friends were hiding out somewhere watching...
Sighing, she glanced over at the lean body beside her... this little set up had seemed so brilliant in the planning stages - now however... Swallowing heavily, she turned and straddled the vampire's lap, startling him slightly with her sudden action and drawing suddenly amber eyes up to her own.
Forcing herself to relax, she draped her arms over his shoulders and lowered her mouth tantalizingly close to his lips, earning a low growl of both uncertainty and growing lust.
There was definitely no way she'd be able to do this if her friends were watching - she could so not deal with their questions as to why she was crawling all over this captured and subdued vamp. In retrospect, despite the nauseating feeling that was building within her, she supposed they'd been lucky to find a vampire who looked enough like Spike that all that was really needed was a quick bleach job, and a few minor spells to alter his scent sufficiently to fool Angelus.
Speaking of whom... recognizing his approaching presence, Buffy quickly allowed herself to roll off the bench with the other vampire, landing them so that he was on top of her, though still motionless as a result of yet another spell he'd been placed under.
Despite how ridiculous she was feeling at this whole little act, she focussed again on the role she was supposed to be playing here, closing her eyes and trying to picture Spike's face as she moaned and wriggled beneath the unknown vampire, whose own body was very quickly growing aroused with her actions.
If this didn't work, she was having a long 'talk' with Amy... most likely with her feet and fists...
Several seconds passed, seconds that seemed to drag on for merciless hours, then, with a suddenness that surprised her, the vampire atop her burst into a cloud of dust. She popped her eyes open, forcing herself to look horror-filled and pained as she rolled away from Angelus and back to her feat.
He grinned at her maliciously for a moment, then closed his eyes and let his head fall back, a slight frown marred his face, then he doubled over and fell to his knees, clutching his head and shaking.
Buffy watched on uncertainly, keeping her distance and preparing for the worst. Finally, the dark-haired vampire looked up, not at her, but rather at the spot she'd been lying in just moments earlier.
"No." Angel's voice whispered, as he stared at the empty spot, "No..." He looked up at her, the love and pain and guilt in his eyes telling her all she needed to know, "Buffy, I'm so sorry..." She kept her features pained and heart-broken, pushing away the guilt she was feeling for having to fool him like this. She wasn't overly sure whether he was apologizing to her, for having staked the vampire he knew she was in love with, or if he'd just been apologizing for staking Spike, his childe, either way, she supposed it didn't really matter. The trick was making sure he stayed this sorry and this guilty until Amy or Willow or Tara was able to ascertain whether their plan worked or not...
The seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly, each small jerk of the long thin hand giving the clock the semblance of resisting each forward motion. Spike averted his eyes from the stubbornly slow clock, and resumed his pacing along the length of the Summer's basement floor. Amy blew a large pink bubble with her gum, then charmed it blue, her eyes crossing slightly as she observed her handiwork, then sucked the bubble back into her mouth.
Spike rolled his eyes and glanced back at the clock. Another minute had gone by. His unlife had definitely been much easier back when he knew he didn't care what happened with the Slayer... now he was on the verge of asphyxiating the brunette sitting on the basement stairs, with her annoying, magicked bubble gum, for coming up with this insane 'plan' to begin with. He was beginning to have some serious doubts that Angel would actually feel guilty enough to reassert more complete control just because he'd dusted the childe he'd only tolerated the past few years because of the bloody chip.
If anything happened to Buffy tonight because Amy had miscalculated the outcomes of tonight's encounter... The front door unlocked and opened on the first floor, and Spike stopped pacing, jerking his head to listen as someone made their way from the front door to the basement door. By this point, it was all he could do to keep himself rooted to the spot and not go rushing past the witch and up the stairs to make sure everything was alright.
Buffy descended wearily, alive and uninjured as far as Spike could tell, but wearing the signs of the emotional ordeal she had just gone through.
Amy stood and stepped aside as Buffy made her way downstairs and sat down on the bottom step that Amy had been occupying only moments ago.
"Well, Angel is with Giles - tied and chained, just in case - so I guess we'll find out soon enough if this whole... thing... worked." the Slayer sighed. "Giles said to give it a few days, then to send Angel back to LA where Wesley and Cordelia can keep an eye on him."
Amy nodded and manoeuverered around Buffy to head back upstairs. "As long as he doesn't find out that the real Spike is still walking around, he should be able to overpower the demon long enough to subdue it again." She turned around and looked back at Spike before exiting the basement, "I'll come by tomorrow night to restrengthen the shields we've got around Spike to make sure Angel doesn't accidentally find out about this."
With that she was gone, letting herself out while Spike and Buffy faced each other, an uncertain silence descending between them. Finally Buffy stood and glanced over at the blankets that were spread out across the floor in the far corner for Spike. With Angel staying with Giles for the next few days, they'd needed a place for Spike to 'hide', and so Buffy had volunteered her house.
"Well, its late," Buffy observed reluctantly, avoiding Spike's eyes, "-so I guess I'll be going..."
Pushing aside the consequences he might be faced with later, Spike made up his mind, closing the distance between them and caught her arm, giving her his best wide-eyed innocent look. "You're not gonna leave me down in this cold, scarey basement all by my lonesome, are you?"
Buffy looked up at him questioningly, a twinge of hopeful fear hidden behind her amusement. "Why?" she asked with suspicion, her voice slightly mocking, "You're not looking for bed warmer, I hope."
She was keeping things light, but there was something else in her voice - in her eyes... Spike rolled his eyes, "No." he sighed, the brief flash of disappointment that passed over her features encouraging him, "But I am looking for something to cuddle with." That had to be the sappiest, most corny thing he'd ever said - but he didn't really care. Grabbing her around the waist before she could respond, he hefted her over his shoulder and started for his make-shift bed.
"Hey!" Buffy protested, her nose bumping against his back, "I am not some soft, fuzzy, stuffed... teddy bear, you overgrown baby! I'm - I'm the Slayer!"
Smiling, but refusing to release her, Spike entertained the image her objection produced... he had no doubt that she could be soft... and fuzzy... and stuffed... full of him...
"Fine, teddy Slayer," he replied aloud, shaking the lusty images from his mind sufficiently to answer, "I'm a vampire - I don't go for soft, fuzzy bears anyways - too tame, for my tastes."
Tumbling them down to the floor, he pinned her against him, noticing that for all her complaints she wasn't really doing much to resist him. "You're just lucky I'm to tired to fight." she mumbled with a mock pout as she snuggled closer against him.
"You're really that tired?" Spike asked innocently, a scheming grin curling the corner of his lips. She nodded her head, her eyes closed. Spike's grin grew, and he turned her around in his arms until she was facing him then lowered his mouth to hers. Her eyes flew open immediately as he drew her into the kiss, then closed again as she started kissing him back. He pulled away from her immediately and released her, rolling onto his back. "Wouldn't want to keep you up then, would we?" he told her as seriously as he could muster.
She sputtered as she stared over at him, and he closed his eyes, biting his tongue to keep himself from grinning at her incredulous expression.
Less than a second later she was on top of him, straddling his stomach as she furiously brought her lips crashing down on his, her tongue demanding he finish what he started. Finally letting the grin form as his hands wandered to the waistband of her pants, he rolled them over and began kissing her back, meeting her fury and passion with his own. This time, he resolved, there would be no interruptions.
Elsewhere:
"I still fail to understand why we must invest so much time into one lower being." the male remarked, turning away from the scrying glass.
"Brother, it has been nearly one thousand of their years since one such as this one has reached this point willingly and unassisted." the female replied simply, fingering one of her favourite gifts.
"Yes, and that one, if I recall correctly, nearly ushered the End of Days upon us all, prematurely..."
"But this one knows more than just power and greed. This one knows love and loss."
The male sighed reluctantly, "Very well, we will entertain this... venture... but if in the end he remains a force of darkness..."
"...our Warriors will dispatch him immediately." the female nodded. "But if he choses the other path..."
"Yes, yes, yes, we shall add another Warrior to our ranks." the male finished for her with a touch of impatience, "Still, I do not like this..."
"Be patient. Have faith." the female urged, "We have built our ranks from the Fallen redeemed - even ones as seemingly insignificant as he. Besides much has yet to happen before he reaches that point." Holding up the gift she was playing with the female smiled, "Time will certainly tell all." With a single thought the small wrist watch vanished, and soon the two Oracles followed suite, until all that remained in the ethereal room was the single scrying pool, still focussed on the vampire and the Slayer; mortal enemies; entwined lovingly in each others arms.
Only time would tell.
End of story.