Title: Secrets Don't Make Friends (Pt 15-Reflections and Revelations)
Author: DivaDelilah (divadelilah@aol.com)
Description: Set in late Season 4, after Faith has body switched and is in prison.
Adam isn't in play, Spike is working with the Scoobies reluctantly.
Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, the new network would have had to been
Cinemax, not the UPN. Joss, Mutant Enemy, and Fox own all…I'm just daydreaming.
Distribution: Fanfiction.net, assorted lists, and anything I okay. (like you'd
want it!)
Feedback: Oh God, give it to me right there! (you know in my email box snicker)
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Spike lifted his head, gasping breath into lungs that no longer needed oxygen
to survive. Buffy was suddenly insatiable. Her strength and stamina were more
than doubled, and she kept growling and whimpering and mewling…all of which
were driving him insane. His ridges refused to fade as she communicated with
him animalistically, pushing him past his limits towards new ones. He wasn't
sure what was going on with her, and he didn't care, really. She was swiftly
becoming the most perfect mate he could ever dream of: all warm and fiery, violent
and passionate, not a vampire but not human. He left her to rest for a few minutes,
and he knew it would only be a very few minutes, to prowl Angel's apartment.
He snorted at the statue of Buddha, and the fridge, still stocked with blood
packets. Buffy would've donated to his cause if he'd asked, willingly and
gladly. She loves when I bite her. What a poof. He began going through the
closet, hoping to find something salvable since Buffy had literally torn everything
but his duster from his body in her haste. Sighing with disgust, he found basically
the same outfit in the same style clothes over and over with little variation.
He flipped through the bookshelves next, chuckling. No wonder he broods so
much, all he reads is poetry. He went for the chest of drawers next, pulling
out each drawer and tossing it methodically. An evil smile crept over his face
as he searched through Peaches' underwear and found handcuffs. This night
just keeps getting better and better, he thought, snapping them onto Buffy's
wrists. As Faith said to me, 'I kinda love this town.'
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The music at the Bronze was loud and racous. For a moment, the old gang looked
around wistfully, remembering gatherings past. Xander and Cordelia relived making
out in the closet; Willow could almost hear Oz and the Dingoes playing in the
background. Angel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of nose, trying not
to be overwhelmed reminiscing about his first dance with Buffy.
They finally moved further into the club and Willow and Tara headed for a table
halfway between the bar and the pool table. Angel looked at them strangely,
knowing this was not where they'd used to sit. Tara gave him a sad smile, feeling
the waves of pain radiating from the soulful vampire. "W-We always sit
here so we're close to the b-bar and the t-tables for Spike a-and Xander. They
play and drink beer while we all d-dance with Buffy," she explained.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow at Xander, who shrugged. "He's the only male
in the group who doesn't wear tweed boxers, right G-Man?"
Giles frowned at him, then in slightly Ripper-esque voice, he replied,"He
only lets you win, Xander. Spike could beat you blindfolded with handcuffs on."
Satisfied with the boy's look of utter defeat, he pondered what Tara had just
said. Upon reflection, they did a lot of things with and for Spike. He had taken
to hanging at the Bronze, helping research, patrolling with Buffy, and generally
become part of the gang, as it were. Giles couldn't think of a house or apartment
that didn't have a few bags of blood tucked away in the fridge for emergencies,
a large blanket for daylight entrances and exits, and a spare set of clothes…all
for Spike. They may have acted like Spike was repugnant to them, but their actions
showed something totally different. Xander, for all his Spike hating diatribes,
hung out with Spike quite a lot, watching sports and playing pool. I myself
have even started looking to his knowledge of things past and demons as a living
encyclopedia to reference from. He's actually a helpful bloke if you give him
a chance. Oh, bugger it! I think I might like him.
Xander, Willow and their girlfriends took advantage of Giles' sudden distraction,
hightailing it for dance floor. Angel went to the bar, sitting at the back corner,
not even noticing Cordelia following him. Wes tapped Giles' shoulder.
"Rupert?"
"Oh, yes, I…well I sort of got lost in thought for a moment. What
can I do for you Wesley?" he asked, taking his glasses off to clean them.
"It seems your Slayer has broken one of the sacred tenets of the Council
again. Not that I'm judging you, because my Slayer is currently a resident of
the state of California, Orange County right now. But do you think it is wise
to contact the Council, even for information?" he replied.
"What other options do we have? I can't say I fancy sitting here waiting
to see if this whole claiming business will eventually hurt or kill Buffy. Which,
so far, I can't say I'm positive it won't," he sighed.
"Well, I was thinking that we could split the research: having Cordelia
and Willow tackle the Internet for information, Anya, you, Tara, and myself
handle magickal resources, and Angel could hit the streets, maybe even travel
a bit and ask around."
Giles thought for a moment. "What about Xander?"
The look on Wesley's face told him the answer would not be pretty. "We
need him, with the aid of Willow and the others to make a list of people the
Slayer has been close with. Then he must go to each person, and try to ascertain
if they received the images form the Slayer and if so, what they were. If need
be, Angel can take him to LA to talk to her father and… and.." He
stopped, looking down at the floor.
"Faith?" Giles asked. "Surely, she wasn't the person closest
to Buffy except through Slayerhood… and Buffy really does not consider
Faith a friend, Wesley. Not to mention that Faith tried to kill Xander the last
time they saw each other in close erm quarters," he protested.
"And he may be the only one Faith will tell if she really was on the receiving
end of the spell. She feels she owes him. And it might help Buffy."
Giles nodded and sighed again, sipping a Guiness and wondering what his life
would have been like if he'd become just a librarian.
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