Chapter Text
Alliance
Buffy killed the fledge she had been fighting for the last five minutes and brushed off the dust that coated her clothes with a sigh. It had been a slow night, and she felt restless. The last few weeks had been empty of any signs of Angelus or Drusilla, and she didn’t know how to feel about it.
In the first times after his appearance, Angelus had taken a sadistic pleasure in stalking her and making sure she knew he was around, taunting her, haunting her thoughts. But now it was like he’d disappeared from the face of the Earth, and that wasnt a good sign. She remembered an expression called the eye of the storm, when everything went quiet before blowing out, and she couldn’t help the shiver of apprehension as she wondered what was in store for her and the scoobies.
Sudden tingles on the base of her neck appeared and she turned around to watch a figure come out of the shadows, platinum hair shining under the light of the moon.
Spike. Spike up and about? Walking? Alive??
Buffy’s body automatically went into fight mode and she squinted at him.
-”Surprise, pet. Did you think you would get rid of me that easily?”
-”I had high hopes. But i guess life is full of disappointment.”
She looked around to see if he wasn’t alone and Spike watched her with an amused smile.
-”They’re not here luv. All on my lonesome.”
-”Where are they?”
He shrugged. «I dont much care, to be honest. When they’re not shagging, they’re out killing and having a party in town, and since i’m supposed to be crippled they don’t care telling me where they go. “
-”And you’re here…why exactly? We’re not chatting buddies. In a minute i’m going to stake you.”
-”Something’s coming. Angelus brought down a statue from god knows where and he expects to bring down an apocalypse with it, not sure how. “
-”Looks like you don’t know much at all, how is that supposed to help me? And why do you care exactly? “
-”You’d be a bit pissed off if your partner kept being fucked by someone else in your own house. I want Dru back. And i want to spoil Angelus’s plans and piss him off in the process. Win, win. I might even save the world while i’m at it, why not? Being crippled changes your perspective on things after awhile. You’d do anything after being bored out of your mind. “
Buffy nodded, still suspicious but she couldn’t deny that what he was saying made sense. She didn’t want to think about Angel having sex with someone else but she had to remind herself that he wasn’t the man she loved anymore. Still, it stung.
She put her stake down. “How can i trust you? “
Spike smirked at her. “I guess you’ll have to take a leap of faith. You need an inside man to know what’s going to happen, and i’m the perfect vamp for the job. They still think i can’t walk so i have an excuse to be there and eavesdrop. “
“-If Angelus havent share his plans with you yet, what makes you think he will?
-”He’ll not be able to help himself. The man loves to brag and if he thinks it can makes him look like the bigger man, he said with a shrug. He won’t miss the opportunity to do it. I know him. It’s just a matter of time. “
Buffy nodded and stared at him. Spike stared back, unflinching. She seemed to make up her mind and sighed.
“-oh well. At worst, i can always stake you if you betray me.”
-”You’re free to try, yeah. I haven’t had a good fight in awhile. Anyway, i’m a bit pekish so i’ll see you around, Slayer.” He was turning around to go when the sound of her clearing her throat stopped him.
“What exactly do you think you’re gonna do?”
Spike chuckled. “-Please. Do you think i was bagging it before being in the chair? Eating people is what we do, us vampires.”
-”Not while we have this truce or it’s not gonna work. I need to know i can trust you, Spike. You have to give me something here.”
His jaw twitched with impatience and he walked towards her, stopping right in front of her face. Her breath caught at how blue his eyes looked when he was expressing that kind of intensity.
“-I could have ignored what happened, taken Drusilla and went on my way without a look back at what’s going to happen, you know that right? Yet here i am, betraying my blood and you’re telling me it’s not enough?”
-”We’re mortal enemies, Spike, from the first day we met you tried to kill me and now i’m supposed to trust you because you say so? Not gonna happen! “
-”And how will you know i’m not killing anyone? You’re gonna put a tracker on me? Follow me around? “
-”I…people talk, Spike. I have my sources and i know everything that happens in this town. Word gets around.”
-Oh, you mean, Willy? Is that really what you mean by sources? I could kill the bloke and then where would you be?”
-”I rest my case,” she said as she looked at him with a hateful glare.
Spike sighed and put a hand through his hair in frustration.
Buffy looked at him for a moment and she seemed to come to a decision. She turned around suddenly and walked away.
“-Hey! We’re not finished here!”, Spike called out.
“-Come on. There’s only one way this is gonna work.
Spike frowned and followed after her. After some time. they came upon a two story house with a tree growing nearby.
Buffy turned to look at him. “The only way i can make sure you hold on to your word is if i can keep my eye on you. When you’re not gonna be in the factory spying on Angelus to get information, you’ll be here where i’ll know you won’t feed on innocent people. Another thing is my mom.” Buffy came close to him, her eyes hard and merciless. -”If you touch one hair on her head i can promise you that after what i’ll do to you you will wish i’d have staked you. Got it? “
Spike nodded, a smile smile on his lips as his eyes glinted with mischief. -”That a promise, pet?”
Buffy squinted.
Spike rolled his eyes. “Yes, Slayer i will not touch your mom. Now where will i be staying, your room?”
She blushed as he wiggled his eyebrows and she scoffed. “No way in hell. You’ll stay in the basement where you belong. Less sunlight there anyway. “
“-I won’t be here during the day anyway. I’m supposed to be stuck in the factory with my wheels remember?”
-”Oh. Right. Anyway, come on.”
They came up in front of the front door. Buffy looked at him significantly as she uttered a small, “Come in,” before he stepped inside. He took the time to look around the house, seeing it was simple but tastefully decorated when a woman around her forties approached them.
-”Well, hello. Buffy, who is this?”
“-Hey, Mom, it just came up suddenly today and i didn’t have time to warn you. Uh, I've accepted to help and host students who came abroad to live in the country and well, this is Spike. He’s from England.”
-”Why didn’t you call? I would have prepared the guest room. I’m sorry….Spike, is it? It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Joyce.”
“-Likewise, mum. I like your place.”
-”Would you like something to drink?”
Buffy and Spike looked at each other, Buffy with a warning in her eyes but it only made Spike smirk more.
“-No thank you, pet. I had a drink before coming here. “
Buffy squinted harder.
-”Alright, no problem. Let me set up the bedroom for you. It’s more a storage room than anything right now because we haven’t had anyone over for some time so it might take awhile. Why don’t you sit down?”
-”Actually Mom, Spike has a slight allergy to sunlight. That’s why he moves around mostly at night, it’s a problem for him during the day. He’ll be better in the basement.”
-”Oh that’s unfortunate. Are you alright with that?”
“-Its no bother, mum. It’ll be fine.”
Joyce’s smiled at them and went back in the kitchen, leaving them alone.
Buffy opened the basement door and descended the stairs, not waiting for him to follow. Spike rolled his eyes and went after her.
Buffy turned on the lights and put down the cot that was standing against the wall, tapping on it to put out the dust that had settled. When there was nothing more she could do, she turned around towards Spike who was looking at her with one single eyebrow raised.
-”Well it’s not the ritz but we’re not friends so it’s the best i can do for now. “
-”I’ve had worst. “
Buffy nodded and silence fell between them, neither knowing what would come next.
-”So if i’m expected not to kill…how am i supposed to feed?”
-”Buy blood bags?. I know where Angel used to go to get them before he….”
“-Pigs blood? Are you for real? Maybe it was good enough for Angel because he was a pansy all soulful like but i’m a real vampire luv. Pigs blood is only going to weaken me.”
-”There’s no other way, Spike. You can’t bite people if you want me to help you. “
“-Not even you?,” he said, eyes darkening at the thought. “With all your chosen one stuff, who sacrifices herself for others, what’s another one for the greater good? No one has to die.”
-”Hell will freeze over before i allow you to touch me,” she said, shuddering. She ignored as much as she could the small part of her that warmed up at his words, repulsed. What was wrong with her?
-”It’s an alternative. Wouldn’t even have to take much. Slayer blood is potent with power. I remember it well. “
-”Making me remember you’re a killer of slayers isn’t the best way to make me trust you, Spike.”
-”Come on. It’s not like you’ve forgotten who i am. “
Buffy inhaled sharply, eager for this conversation to be over. “Will you stay here tonight?” she asked, changing the subject.
-”I better go back, i’ve been gone too long. If they come back and i’m not there, the plan is fucked. “
Buffy nodded and crossed her arms, watching him leave. She waited for about fifteen minutes before going out of the house to follow him. She wanted to make sure he would do what he said he’d do. A small step towards trust would make her feel better about accepting his offer to help.
She made sure to stay in the shadows and to mostly follow her tinglies more than watch him on sight.
A sense a relief went through her as she watched him enter the factory. He had kept his word. Satisfied, she went back home.
Thé Scoobies’s reaction to her news wasn’t surprising. Giles and Xander were outraged that she would let Spike into her house where she had basically put her mother in danger. Willow was concerned Buffy wasn’t thinking straight because of Angel and Cordelia, as usual, didn’t cared much about what had happened. It wasn’t apocalypse worthy news.
-”Guys, it’s a test. If he behaves and does what i asks him to do that means i can trust him and he doesn’t get staked. Besides do you really think i’m gonna let him alone in my house with my mother? Do you think i’m stupid? I’m gonna be there the whole time to watch him and sees that he doesn’t kill people as he helps us figure out what’s up with Angelus and Drusilla. It’s for my reassurance that i’m doing this. How else am i gonna keep an eye on him?”
-”Buffy, this could only be a trick, Giles said. « To Get you to trust him to then attack what you held most dear in your life and destroy you. Don’t forget that he’s the worst vampire in history according to my books, just behind Angelus himself. “
-”Giles, i know. But it’s the only way to know what the vamps are up to. Do you think Angelus will simply tell me what he has in mind? We need someone on the inside. “
“-But him staying at your house? Couldn’t you make him go to a motel and put a camera there to check on him? “Xander asked.
-”I need him closer. A camera wouldn’t stop him from going next door and feeding on someone there. He could make up any excuse and lie about what he did. At least at my house i’ll know where he’ll be when he’s not pretending to be paralyzed at the factory. “
-”I still don’t like it Buffy. Your mom…”
“-Will be okay, Willow. I promise. “
That night at Revello Drive, there was a knock at the door. Buffy opened it to find Spike behind, extinguishing a cigarette with his foot.
He acknowledged Buffy with a nod. “Slayer. Ready for my part of the deal. “ He was holding a plastic bag in one hand.
-”Is that what i think it is?”
-”You can say it, Slayer, don’t be a delicate flower. It’s blood. Do you have space in your fridge where i can stash it?”
- “There’s one in the basement. My mom doesn’t need to see it.”
-”Convenient then,” he sneered, passing through and going straight down.
Buffy followed him and watched him put the blood in the mini fridge near the cot.
He took off his duster and put it on the mattress, sitting down, looking around. “Well. I see you don’t use your basement much. I wish you had a tv at least. Or books.”
Buffy smiled, amused. “You? You read? “
“-What’s so surprising about that? You met Dru, it’s not like she’s known for her intellectual conversations. I need something to engage my brain or else it rots. I see that’s not something you’re worried about since i see no books here.”
“-Hey, we have books! They’re upstairs.”
-”Didn’t get to visit the house.” he shrugged.
-”You don’t need to. You’re not really a guest, you know. “
“-Makes a fella feel real welcome you do. So what am i supposed to do to pass the time?”
“-Meditate? Feed? Feel guilty about all the persons you killed?”
-”Thats Angel’s thing….oh wait. Not anymore,” he said, smirking.
Buffy scowled but said nothing.
-”He talked a bit about how it had happened. Had something to do with you if i’m not mistaken.”
Buffy’s scowl deepened and she turned around to go towards the stairs.
-”He’s a prick.”
She stopped, the hand on the banister. She diddnt want to but a big part of her wanted to know more about this new side of her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.
-”He was one with a soul but he’s even worst without one, part of the reason why i came to you. He’s always had a thing for the young virgin girls in this world, so it didn’t surprise me, when i thought about it afterwards, anyway, when I learned how he fell in love with you. Doesn’t surprise me now that he’s still obsessed with you, even after losing the soul. Still the same guy, shiny or not.”
-”You’re wrong,” she said, her voice shaking with anger and sorrow. “Angelus is nothing like Angel. “
-”It takes a vampire to really know another vampire, pet. I don’t know what they taught you at slayer school but a vampire doesn’t stop being a vampire just because he has a soul. Angelus was still inside him as he deflowered you and I bet that pure happiness clause on the curse was because he got to take the virginity of an innocent. The fact that she was a slayer also? In love with him? Bonus!”
-”If you don’t stop talking right now, i’ll make your dust fit in the nearest ashtray i find.”
-”Neither you or your mom are a smoker, luv, i doubt you’ll find one,” he said mockingly.
A nasty feeling sat in the bottom of Buffy’s stomach and she turned around, wanting to lash back the same venom he had given her. “Maybe you’re right, Spike. Maybe it takes a vampire to know another. Maybe Dru knows something that made her choose Angelus over you. Maybe you’re just inadequate where it really matters.”
Something dangerous flickered in Spike’s eyes and Buffy knew she had struck right where it hurts.
-”You shut your gob, Bitch. Dru is just going through something right now.”
-”Oh is that what you’re telling yourself to feel better? Do you really believe that Spikey? Tell the truth.”
Spike snarled and got up from the cot. “Fuck this. It was a mistake to have come here. I should have known better.”
Buffy pushed him before he could get up the stairs. “No. You said you were going to help us and i hate you but you were right, we do need the help. If you could stop being an asshole just for one minute though that would make things easier for everyone.”
-”Not my fault you’re not able to handle the truth like a grown up. How old are you again?”
-”See? See? This is what i’m talking about! Shut up!” She punched him in the face and hearing his nose crunch filled her with satisfaction.
-”Fucking bitch!” he said, holding his bloody nose.
-”You had it coming. Now go back to your bed.” She was going up the stairs without waiting for an answer when his voice stopped her.
-”Slayer. I need to eat.”
-”Your blood is in the fridge , Spike.”
“-I need it hot. 98.6. Or else it’s disgusting.”
Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes, but she turned around and went to fetch the blood. “Is it going to make you more amenable?”
“-We’ll see, I guess,” he said to her with a wink.
Buffy scoffed and went to heat his blood up.
During the night, Buffy tossed and turned in her bed. She was wondering if she should have locked the door to the basement. Would he come out and murder them in their sleep?
She thought about what he had said about Angel. Was he right? Did part of Angel rejoice that he was taking her virginity and that was the reason of his happiness? Buffy’s heart hurts. Her first experience with sex had been a mellow one at best and she didn’t want to ruin it by thinking it was done by anything other than love.
Buffy turned over, uneasy. In a way, her own moment of happiness had been ruined by the morning after, where Angel ( Angelus, she reminded herself) had taunted and mocked her about her ability to satisfy a man in bed.
Buffy didn’t want to believe both sides of the man she loved had anything in common but Spike had created doubts in her mind and she couldn’t help but wonder. Was it real? It felt real for her, but for Angel?
It had taken time for her to trust him. She couldn’t help her own feelings toward him but trusting him was another matter. And now here she was, trusting another demon, soulless at that, in her own house not to kill her and her mother. And she didn’t even have any feelings for him. What was her problem?
Footsteps downstairs made her step up in her bed and she stood still. Spike was a vampire, therefore nocturnal, so clearly awake and with nothing to do in the basement, he was probably bored out of his mind. So it would make sense that he would take a stroll inside the house while everyone was asleep.
Cursing herself for not having thought about that, Buffy stood and went downstairs. The tv was on, the volume lowered and Spike was on the couch, watching it.
He looked up when he heard the stairs creak under her weight and lifted an eyebrow. “Couldn’t sleep, Slayer? “
-”What are you doing out of the basement?,” she whispered angrily.
-”What am I, a prisoner now? I endured it for as long as i could without staking myself out of boredom. Wanna join me?”
“-I cant, i have school in the morning.”
Spike shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Buffy hesitated. She was wide awake now and probably wouldn’t go back to sleep anyway. Reluctantly she went to sit on the couch next to Spike, careful not to touch him.
Spike snorted. “Women. They change their minds so fast.”
-”Shut up Spike.”
They watched the tv in silence which wasn’t that awkward. It was surprising, considering who they were to each other, but then again, not really. Spike was a straight forward guy, with him what you saw was what you got and Buffy appreciated that. She hated mind games.
And she had questions.
-”About…what you said….about Angel….”
Spike just looked at her, lifting an eyebrow.
“How do you know that deep down he and Angelus are the same? They’re just so different. It’s not like you ever had a soul to know the difference.”
”Well i knew him when he got the soul. He was still feeding, still killing. Granted, it was people he thought deserved to die, murderers, rapists and the like, but the soul only made him more choosy of the people he killed. He still wanted to be part of the family, still wanted his precious Darla to accept him. When she denied him he had no choice but to leave and i didn’t get to saw him again until this year. So he’s involved with a different bird. So what. Nothing has changed much if you ask me.”
“He doesn’t kill anymore. But I guess he lied to me about never having killed with the soul.
“Typical. He has always been big on lies and manipulation. Especially towards himself. That’s how he can cope with the soul i wager. If he thinks he does things for the right reasons, his conscience is unburdened. Newsflash, it won’t unkill the people he killed.”
Buffy swallowed and said nothing.
Spike sighed. “If it can bring you any comfort though…i do believe he loves you in his own way. “
“Angelus?”
“Angel. Angelus has nothing left of humanity in him, the judge was very clear about that. He could touch him without any problem. “
Buffy turned to look at him. “What about you?”
Spike fidgeted a bit, suddenly uncomfortable.
Buffy’s eyes widened. “He could have killed you? So that means…”
“It doesn’t mean that much. Still soulless remember?”
“Yes but…that means you have some humanity in you.”
“Wouldn’t stop me from ripping out your throat without a second thought,” he snarled .
Buffy put her hand on his mouth. “Shut up, my mom is sleeping!”
Spike took her wrist and, staring straight at her, licked the inside of her hand.
She shuddered and took it back quickly. “You’re disgusting,” she whispered.
“Don’t touch me.”
They stared at each other, looks heated, breaths heavy.
Spike suddenly smelled something he wouldn’t have expected from her.
Arousal.
His knowing smirk made her gasp and deviate her eyes from his. “Well, well. This is an interesting turn of event.”
“Dont see what you mean.”
“Vampire here, luv. Your body can’t lie to me. Even though you’d try to lie to yourself. Seems like you got a thing for vamps.”
She stood up to get away from him but he was just as fast and stepped in front of her.
“I, on the other hand, dont have a soul to lose,” he whispered, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.
“It’s never going to happen Spike. Let me go. “
“Never say never,” he muttered and after a beat that seemed like an eternity to Buffy he let her go.
Buffy went up the stairs, her body shaking from suppressed emotion.
She ignored Spike for the next two nights, even though she knew they couldn’t waste time over trying to learn more about what was to come. And she needed to talk to Spike for that.
She was distracted in school and forgot to takeimportant notes that would be crucial for the final exams of the semester. Fortunately she had Willow, and her friend was happy to let her borrow hers.
She was trying to study in her bedroom when there was a knock at her door. “Come in!”
Joyce entered with a smile on her face. “Hello, Buffy. How was school?”
“Oh you know. Same old same old. What’s up?”
“Well, i was thinking, it’s been a few days since we had our guest and i barely saw him. I was wondering if he would come to diner tonight with us? Talk a bit about what was his life like in England? “
-”Oh, um, i dont know mom. He’s just such a very very shy guy and i think he’d better like it if we left him alone. He likes it in the basement, really. “
“Nonsense, Buffy, i don’t believe that for one second. Would you be a dear and invite him? I have to check the roast beef in the oven. “
“Mom, he….he doesn’t eat that much.”
“But he does eat, right? “
Buffy didn’t know. Besides blood, did vampires eat human food? It seemed unlikely. But with the look her mother was sending her, she knew she was at an impasse. With a sigh she stood and went downstairs.
Spike was sleeping. She took a minute to look at him. Gone was the smirk and the mocking smile he seemed to constantly wear around her. He seemed almost…innocent. If she didn’t know better. And the creepiest part was the fact that he didn’t breathe. There was literally a corpse in her basement. At least he didn’t smell.
Against her will, Buffy couldn’t help but see how handsome he was. His platinum hair was curly in repose, like he had passed his hands through it several times, which made him look younger. Sharp, high killer cheekbones framed a sensual mouth, giving his face a balance between masculine and feminine that was striking to her. It wasnt fair that a vampire should be so beautiful.
She shook herself. What was she doing admiring the looks of a serial killer? And she was going to invite him to diner with her mother? What? She’d find an excuse but there was no way…
“Did you want something, Slayer?
She stopped in front of the stairs, her back to him. “My mother is inviting you to dinner But there’s no way you can right? You don’t eat.”
“How do you know?”
“Angel…”
“is a ponce who doesn’t know how to enjoy the pleasures in life.”
-”You’re dead.”
“Undead. Whatever, Slayer,i do happen to eat sometimes. I’m a fan of spicy buffalo wings myself.”
She looked at him with an incredulous look.
He grinned. “So count me in pet. I’m sure your mom is a real chef. “
***
”Joyce, this is incredible. Thank you for having me.”
“It’s my pleasure, Spike. Do you want another serving?”
“Oh no thank you, it feels like i’ve eaten a whole person.”
Buffy shot him a glare in warning but he just grinned at her.
“Looks like you know your meat. So how have you been enjoying Sunnydale so far? How do you like the school?”
Spike looked at Buffy before answering. “Well, Sunnydale is alright really, it has this charm like atmosphere that every small town has and it’s easy to get around. School…hasn’t been a problem. I’m doing fine. “
“I’m glad. When we came here after LA, i was worried that Buffy would have problem adjusting but she’s actually doing fine now.”
“Mom!”
“Oh?,” asked Spike. “Did you have any problems at your previous school, Sla-pet? “
“We don’t have to talk about it,” she muttered, stabbing her mashed potatoes with her fork. She didn’t like the grin he was sending her.
“Maybe you could go to the Bronze with your friends and bring Spike, honey. All the young girls are hanging there after all. “
“I’m not a matchmaker, mom. Besides Spike is already involved with someone, aren’t you, blondie?”
“Watch it,” he growled.
”Really? What’s her name?” Joyce asked.
“Drusilla, mum. My stars and moon. We’ve been together for a very long time. Feels like a century really.”
“Oh i see. Well forget i said anything. Who am i to get in the way of young love? But the Bronze is the local club where every young people hangs out in Sunnydale. You haven’t truly been introduced to the town until you go there.”
“Well, what do you say?” he asked with dancing eyes towards Buffy. “Wanna go out?”
“I have to keep an eye on you after all. I go where you go.” she replied.
“I’ll stay close to you, luv. As close as you like.”
She rolled her eyes as his flirting and ignored the butterflies in her stomach.