It's Magic!
By PassionFish
TIMELINE: Set in season two. Angelus and Dru are still about - Spike can walk but they don't know, Acathla hasn't come up yet! :)
Summary: Xander and Magic are not mixy things, as the gang discover when he attempts a little sorcery and Buffy ends up a cat...waking up in verry interesting places!
Rating: NC-17
Feed back: Please; morbiddesiresbypassionfish@yahoo.com
URL: http://www.morbiddesires.com/MD
A/N: Thank-you to Marsters' Girl for originally beta-ing this fiction :)
It was nearly midnight.
If there had been any crickets outside they probably would have been making that noise that crickets make, but there weren't there so they didn't.
Inside a cool library, a slayer sat, several old and musty books splayed on the table in front of her.
With a sigh she closed the nearest one, dust rising into the air.
"Damn you maths." She muttered, shoving the book away and reaching for another text, once again trying to discern the complexities that were trigonometric differentiation.
---
Unaware of the slayer in the main room below, Xander sad cross-legged, a heavy hard bound book on his lap.
He sighed. He missed Cordy. He'd fucked up. He really missed Cordy.
"Damn you love." He muttered, absently leafing through the heavy tomb of a book.
A gust of wind entered the corridor, forcing the book open at the middle page. Xander peered down at the elegant gold script that graced the page.
The interchanging of mammalian form;
The ceremony is to be performed whilst the subject is standing upside down, resting on one finger whilst imagining the mammal they wish to turn in too.
The following words should be spoken at the stroke of midnight, on a full moon to complete the transformation.
Mammal by day
Mammal by night
Turn this creature
Into something with bite.
Xander giggled, "Is this for real?" He murmured, a huge smile on his face. What a crock of shit.
---
Buffy silently executed the last seven moves of the kata Giles had shown her last week.
With a sigh, she flipped up on to her hands, staring at the upside down clock. *Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock..." It was less than a minute to midnight.
Focusing her mind like Giles had taught her, Buffy pushed up her body so that all her weight rested solely on the tips of her fingers.
Like a kitten in the air,
She watches as the world falls by,
Singing bollocks like I care,
Wondering when to say goodbye.
*Why the HELL can't I get that damn song out of mind - it doesn't even make any sense! British people are weird. * Spike flashed in her mind. And Buffy shook her head; where did that come from?
As the clock began to strike twelve she released all her fingers, resting all her weight on her right index finger.
---
*How cool would it be to be like a tiger or a lion...or a giraffe? * He giggled slightly to himself and without noticing the clock begin to chime, chanted softly to himself in a mock-sinister voice;
Mammal by day
Mammal by night
Turn this creature
Into something with bite!
Then rolled around as he burst out laughing.
---
Smoke whirled and swirled, surrounding the slayer.
Buffy gasped for air, trying to orient herself, she lost concentration and fell heavily to the ground below.
She felt her clothes expand around her...then nothing.
Xander jumped up, the large book tumbling off his lap as he rushed to the sound of the noise.
He skidded to a halt as he came in front of a pile of clothes that looked suspiciously like those that Buffy wore when she was training.
"Meow!"
"What the?" Xander frowned, bending down the pile of clothes,
"Ahh!!" He jumped back, landing on his ass when a blonde kitten pounced out of the clothes.
"Meow!"
"Oh, god!" Xander shouted as he realised what he'd done. He dove for her but she darted out of his grasp, slipping up the bookcase and out of a nearby window.
"Giles is so not gonna be happy." He muttered.
---
The kitten nimbly jumped down the brick wall, landing agily on her feet. She looked about, scented the air and then took of in the direction of the scent of food.
She sniffed the air again, her prey was getting near. She took a step into the road then jumped about a mile backwards as a beeping car zoomed by.
She gave a little growl, glaring after the speeding car but then caught sight of her quarry.
Silently, she padded across the road. The object of her desires spotted her and scurried towards the safety of a nearby bush.
With supernatural agility the kitten flew through the air, pouncing on the back of the rat, her claws digging into its coarse flesh.
Her claws ripped viciously into its flesh and the rat squeaked then went still in her grasp.
---
Buffy-kitten scented the air, her eyes moving slowly about the place she found herself in. The scent of jasmine was in the air. Jasmine and death.
But something had drawn her here.
The soft sound of tiny feet padding down a metallic staircase could be heard if one listened carefully enough. Ivy had woven its way around the metal trellis of the winding staircase and the kitten nimberly avoided it as she came to the ground floor of the mansion.
There wasn't a sound in the whole mansion.
But there was a light...
Her little nose nudged the door open slightly and trotted inside before sitting down, unwittingly closing the door.
The room was cold. There wasn't much furniture. The light came from a lone candle burning next to the four-poster bed in the centre of the room. In the far corner stood a dark oak wardrobe. Next to it a Victorian basin.
The kitten shivered, padding towards the only source of heat in the room; the bed. She nimberly jumped up, her claws were carefully sheathed and didn't catch on the silk sheets that adorned the bed.
There was a single lump in the bed, his porcelain skin a shocking contrast to the deep blood red of the sheets.
She moved to the prone vampire, scenting the air as she rubbed her nose against his cheek.
---
Spike blinked beneath his eyelids. Something warm and wet was touching the skin of his cheek. He shifted, turning his head as he opened his eyes to meet emerald green orbs.
He quickly sat up, staring down in shock at the kitten who now sat licking her paw, looking every bit at home.
He smirked at the thought that such a small creature could be so at ease with 'the big bad'. His eyes strayed to the wheelchair in the corner and let out a little growl at the sight.
The kitten padded over to him, rubbing her muzzle into his side, seeking attention.
"Where have you come from, hmmm?" He murmured, unknowingly reaching out his hand to stroke the kitten.
She purred, pushing her face into his touch.
He smiled again.
A gust of wind rolled through the room, nudging the flame to spread light on a different part of the room. Something shiny caught the cat’s eye and she left the vampire to go to it.
The vampire quirked an eyebrow as the kitten purred at the necklace hanging from one of the posts of his bed. He chuckled as she began batting at it, then became frustrated when she realised that there wasn't enough leverage in its current position to play with it.
He reached over and slipped the aged necklace off its hook. He held it for a moment, gazing down at it. It had been his mothers. The only thing he had kept from his past.
A little meow shook him from his reverie and he smirked as the kitten pushed her nose against his hand, obviously trying to get him to lift it up for her.
Obediently, the vampire lifted the necklace, watching as the kitten gave a little growl as she began batting at it.
Spike could swear he saw her glare at him when he kept it just out of her reach. And the glare reminded him of *her*.
"Xander, how many times have I told you that magic is not something to played with?" The watcher removed his glasses, rubbing them furiously while he stared at the boy.
"Well...never, actually." Xander answered, and then silently cursed his smart mouth at the watchers glare.
"Because I thought that you were mature enough to work it out for yourself!"
"I'm sorry...” He muttered and looked over to Cordy.
"I'm not gonna help you buster, you are so on your own. God, even I know you shouldn't read from one of Giles' magic books!" Cordy snapped at him, but her eyes softened and she squeezed his hand.
Xander was torn. Although he was sad Buffy was a kitten, Cordy had come back to him...and that made him happy...but Buffy was a kitten, and that was his fault - and that was bad, but Cordy-
"Xander! The least you could do is to stop daydreaming and actually HELP!" Willow chastised, breaking him from his perpetual thoughts.
His eyes snapped up, "Sorry Wills...” And he picked up another book as the clock struck five in the morning.
---
The vampire rolled his shoulders back, yawning as he stretched. The sun was coming up and even though he was healing his body ached, simply from being awake.
Placing the necklace on the dresser he lay back down, closing his eyes as his vampiric body demanded he sleep.
The kitten meowed at the loss of attention, nipping at his fingers.
Spike sighed, lifting the kitten up and resting her on his chest. He absently continued stroking her, smiling at her purrs, saddened that it had been so long since he'd heard such a sound from a different female.
With that depressing thought he fell asleep, his hands never ceasing their motions.
---
"Ugh!" Willow rolled her neck, wincing at the crick in her back as she rose off the pile of books in front of her. She glanced at the clock - nearly eight.
She stared down at the book in front of her, the words jumbled then reformed as she woke up. It took a while for her mind to catch up with her eyes. Then she smiles..."I found it!" She whispered.
"Guys...wake up...” She nudged Xander with her foot, who grumbled in his sleep but didn't wake. "WAKE UP!!! I found something."
The group jumped to attention, both by the revelation and the witch's tone.
"It says here that for animal transformations the caster has to cast the spell back wards, whilst s-standing on his head." She smiled, and then giggled at the thought.
"What? I don't believe you...” Xander muttered at the cheeky look on Willow's face, he made a grab for the book but she held it away from him.
"Oh, just do it Xander!" Cordy cried exasperated, she was tired, her feet hurt and she really wanted smooches!
"Fine." Xander muttered.
Twenty minutes later, Giles had managed to suspend Xander in the air so that he was standing on his head. And the watcher stifled his own giggles at the picture the boy made.
"Okay Xander, you just have to say this backwards -” Giles, indicated the spell.
"You guys have to forgive me after this." Xander murmured as a prerequisite.
"I think after-"
"Chill G-Man! Okay, etib...hthiw...gnih-temos otni...erut-ae-rc...are you guys serious?"
"Yes!" Came the collective exasperated shout from the room.
"Fine, okay! Siht...th-gin yb...lammam...yad yb lammam!" A whirl of smoke erupted around Xander, releasing his restraints.
He fell to the floor and Cordy rushed forward, "God Xander, couldn't you have landed a bit-"
"Sorry Cordy...” Xander cut across derisively, rubbing his sore back.
"Okay, someone tell me that means it worked."
"Should have done...we just have to wait for Buffy to come back."
"Yeah, and kick my ass."
"Which is no more than you deserve." Giles put in and Xander looked sheepishly to the floor.
"Guess we wait."
The gang sat in silence for a few moments before Xander spoke again, "So...did I really have to do that thing upside down?"
The group looked at him, then each other and burst out laughing.
"Of course, Xander." Giles nodded, very properly then burst out laughing.
Spike woke up with a mouthful of hair. Blinking his eyes wildly, he tried to focus on what had woken him. His eyes widened at the sight before or more accurately, on top of him. The slayer, in all her bronzed naked glory, was asleep on his chest.
She stirred slightly, as did a certain lower part of Spike.
Buffy shivered. Damn it, I forgot to close the damn window again! Opening her eyes, she saw what appeared to the bluest eyes she ever accounted for. They could only belong to one person, Spike. Her eyes bugged as Spike's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"SPIKE!" She squeaked, she was about to say more when he clapped his hand over her mouth.
She glared at him, about to hit him when the hand was removed, "Shhh! Do you want the whole bloody world to know your here?"
"What the hell am I doing here?" Buffy asked as Spike as asked,
"Where the hell did the kitten go?" He actually liked the ball of fluff and, though he asked his question, he had a fair idea where the kitten had gone, or rather what the kitten had actually been.
Buffy, confused by his question was shocked from her own questioning, "Huh?"
Spike was about to answer when there was a timid knock on his bedroom door; he looked at Buffy who was still lying on top of him. Then removed his arm, which had found itself around her naked form to retrieve his duster.
He passed it to her whispering, "Get under the bed."
Buffy, too confused, and upset at the loss of the surprisingly gentle embrace to argue, wrapped the coat around her, not noticing Spike's appreciative gaze, and scurried under the bed.
The timid knock came again, punctuated by a quiet murmur that only superior hearing would have picked up, "Master Spike?"
"What?" Spike said in as bored a tone as he could muster as he glanced at the clock; there was about four hours until sundown. He wasn't sure if he was happy or not about this knowledge.
"Drusilla is upset, one of her teacups has been broken and she wants another.” the quiet whisper continued.
Spike heard Buffy snigger under the bed but said, "Well, go and get her another one you bloody idiot!"
"Yes, Master Spike, of course." And with that the minion left.
Spike took a deep unneeded breath and spoke, "You can come out now, kitten."
Buffy carefully stood so that she was still entirely wrapped in the leather coat, an amused smile on her face. "A teacup?" she asked with a giggle.
Spike frowned at her, "She's crazy; you'd be upset over a teacup if you were crazy."
Buffy's giggle turned to a full-fledged laugh and Spike found he was having trouble containing his own smile at her humour.
Calming, Buffy recollected her location and clothing or lack there of.
"What am I doing here Spike? And what does a kitten have to do with anything?" She too had trouble maintaining her angry facade and the last few words came out in a laugh.
"What do you remember?" He asked instead of answering.
She frowned, "What do I remember?" She asked to herself, "I was, um... oh, I was working and stretching...um..." she thought for a moment, "I remember being happy over something, I think I was purring!" She said more to herself, with an amused smile. "I killed a...a...thing." She turned her scowling eyes back to Spike, "And then there's the part where I wake up on top of you, naked I might add."
Spike chuckled and said, "You were a kitten."
She gave him a 'Is that the best you could come up with?' look but he continued, "Kitten came in - when I woke up it smelt of rats blood - it had recently ate. The bit curled up on my bed, it purred for a while in my lap. Then it fell asleep on my chest." He gave her a pointed look, "I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say - that was you." He drawled condescendingly.
As Buffy tried to take all the information in, Spike's voice rang out again, "Must say love, I'm flattered that you liked me so much."
Buffy gave him a disgusted look, but ruined it with the blush that stained her cheeks.
"Cat-me, Spike. Not me-me."
Spike smiled at her discomfort. "We'll see." Then got off the bed, crossing to the dresser at the other end of the room. Buffy took a few steps back, shocked and slightly scared.
"You can walk?" She blurted out. A slow predatory smile crossed Spike's features and he changed course, walking over to the slayer. She moved back. As he closed in she bumped into the wall. She was trapped. But this was a different type of trap.
Spike leaned into her, their mouths almost touching, "Not all I can do." He whispered into her open mouth seductively, before claming it in a passionate kiss.
Buffy broke away, "You bastard-” She was interrupted by Spike's lips crashing down on hers once more. She pushed at his shoulders with fisted hands. He didn't budge.
Buffy stood shocked, then gave a moan; finally giving into the sensations that his talented lips and tongue were invoking. She moaned throatily and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing the duster to fall open. Spike growled deep in his chest and moved his hand that wasn't in her hair, to her body. He gently massaged her breast, rubbing his thumb over the tightened nipple.
Buffy moaned again, rubbing her hips against his in an unmistakable invitation. Spike removed his hands from her breast and hair to wrap them around her, carrying her bodily to the bed, their lips never leaving.
---
Hours later they lay together. Buffy spooned into Spike's chest as he nuzzled the tender mark on her neck, purring as he did so. There was still an hour until sunrise and no one would be up in the mansion until then. Both felt content and sated, neither wanting
Buffy to leave at sundown as they both knew she must. Spike understood that she would have to check in with her watcher, but he had no intention of letting her out of his arms until the last minute.
He was surprised at the sound resonating from his body, not that he was making it but that he wasn't making it. He'd purred with Drusilla but then he'd forced himself to - the sound that was coming from his now was an entirely unconscious reaction. He honestly couldn't remember a time when he'd been happier.
Buffy's thoughts were on a similar track to Spike's, although she was unsure of what the purring noise meant she had a feeling that it meant he was happy. She couldn't believe that her lover was a soulless vampire.
He'd been so tender, so gentle, so.... loving. She only wished she had a way to show him how happy she felt. She honestly couldn't remember a time when she'd been happier.
They lay like that for nearly the entire hour, but as their end time grew near and their strength and lust renewed, they made almost desperate love. Desperate for their time together never to end.
"Pet," Spike was saying, looking down Buffy's naked form as he trailed a finger down the valley between her breasts, "Much as I love you like this, I'd have to kill anyone else who saw you."
Buffy smiled, "Jealous much?"
Spike growled playfully at her, yanking her into his arms, "My Slayer." He whispered against her lips before capturing them in a powerful kiss.
"Your slayer, huh?" She asked, a cheeky smile playing on her lips.
"Yes." He growled, claiming her lips again. Wrenching free, Buffy took deep breaths to fill her oxygen-deprived body, the kiss leaving her without any doubt about to whom she belonged.
"Yours." She agreed, pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. Spike purred once at her words, kissing her back. She pulled away, smiling, "I like it when you do that." She said stroking his chest as though he was a cat. He smiled back and tried to kiss her again but she put her finger to his lips.
"No." she said as firmly as she could, as he sucked her finger in to his mouth, biting it gently.
"I really have to go."
Spike kissed up her neck to her lips, pressing his gently against hers. His tongue darted out to touch her lips, they opened under his asking and he moved into her mouth, pulling her tongue in, to play with his. Cool met warm and they both groaned from the feeling. Grudgingly he broke away, allowing her to breathe.
He too was shaking ever so slightly from the intensity of the kiss. "I know love."
She looked into his eyes; both meeting, shocked at the emotion they saw in the others, unaware that their own eyes mirrored their partners. "Come by later?" Buffy whispered.
"Yeah." Spike answered.
*** *** *** ***
Dressed in a pair of Spike's sweatpants and one of his numerous black t-shirts Buffy carefully left the mansion.
She breathed in the night air as memories of that day filled her mind. She couldn't believe that she was even having these feelings for another vampire, but she was. But Spike was different from Angel, or Angelus.
Maybe today had just been all about sex, she thought, frowning. But it hadn't, they talked, laughed, joked in such a comfortable, playful manner that one would never have assumed they had been mortal enemies up to that day.
After her perfect day with Spike, Buffy no longer believed that Angel and Angelus were such different entities. In fact she was actually starting to believe that maybe the soul didn't leave the body, but it was just a matter of dominance.
She would have to talk to Giles about it. Another thing she wanted to find out about was the purring thing - what did it mean? With those thoughts she found herself in front of the school.
She walked slowly to the library, pushing open the doors to find her best friends all very worried,
"Hi guys, miss me?"
*** *** *** ***
Spike watched the slayer go, already missing her. Sighing to himself he moved into his bathroom, grateful not for the first time that day that it was attached to his room only.
He knew he had to wash the slayer's scent off him before his prick of sire came back. Spike had a feeling the knowledge that Buffy and he were together might just push Angelus over the deep end, if he wasn't there already, and he wanted to be at full strength to protect his mate.
With that thought Spike stopped. His mate? "Shit." He whispered.
He now knew what had been pressing at his thoughts all day; he wanted Buffy to be his mate. Now his own words of possession over her made more sense to him. The euphoric feeling he had felt at her ready acceptance of them was now understood - he was falling in love with her.
"Fuck!" he swore quietly. Continuing his movements to the bathroom, at least the slayer's blood had speeded up his recovery to full strength.
As he stepped into the hot shower his thoughts turned to the last time he'd been in here. She'd bared her neck for him, shown complete trust in him, shown.... love? He could only hope.
"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed running over to her friend, and hugging her tightly, "You're okay! We were so worried, it was a spell, and you were a kitten."
"A blond kitten if it makes a difference." Xander put in a little sheepishly. Whilst the others had just about forgiven him for the spell, he hadn't spoken with Buffy.
The slayer catching his apprehension spoke kindly, as Willow moved away, and she walked into the library, "Its okay Xander."
Xander smiled and the watcher spoke, "Buffy, where have you been all this time, we've been worried sick."
Buffy blushed slightly but answered as casually as possible, "I was behind someone’s house. I woke up shockingly naked and grabbed this stuff off the washing line."
"So, everything’s sorted?" she asked looking between all the couples in the room who all seemed to be closer than usual.
"Yeah." they all replied quietly, before giggling at their unison answer.
*** *** *** ***
Later that evening, Buffy sat alone in the library with various vampire texts surrounding her. After informing the group that she would be fine; she promised to watch wolf-Oz in an attempt to get some homework done.
In actuality, once the Scooby gang and her watcher had departed she had searched for the book that Giles had so kindly slammed in front of her on her first day at Sunnydale High, entitled, "Vampyr."
So far she had read the basics and was finally getting to the section on vampiric traits. Growling had various different meanings, the main two being in lust or anger. They drew blood during sex as both a turn on and to mark their territory, warning others away from their claim.
Coming to the section on purring Buffy read the following:
"The purring sound that resonates from a vampire, is similar to a feline - produced to express the vampire's love and devotion for his lover, when produced unconsciously it shows the vampire's contentment."
The passage continued, comparing vampiric traits with the large 'cat' family and that of wolves but the slayer wasn't reading.
Her heart was beating wildly in her chest at the knowledge that she had possibly made Spike purr.
Perhaps he'd felt the same way for her as she for him that today had been something more than just a good time.
As she mused over her point, she discounted the cool air as an absent breeze. Suddenly, she felt a cool tongue flick her ear lobe, and soft lips placing a gentle kiss just below her ear. She smiled as Spike turned her in his arms and wrapped her arms around him as he kissed her, picking her up to place her on the table.
Laying her down, he moved over her one arm supporting his weight, the other slipping under her skimpy top to caress her breasts. Buffy's own hands were busy untucking his shirts under his duster.
In a quick move she flipped them so that she was on top. Spike smiled into the kiss, his smile turning to a groan as she ground herself into his crotch.
Neither lover noticed the library doors opening, only stopping their actions at the dangerous growl that rolled around the entire room. Buffy broke away and sat up, looking over to the doors to find a vamped out Angelus, a wild fury within his eyes.
"She's mine boy, get away from her." Angelus growled.
Buffy laughed and leaned down to kiss Spike before sitting up again, "I'm not yours Angelus, I was never yours."
Spike smiled at her words, sliding his hands up her top, "She's mine, Angelus - go back to Dru." he said, without longing or sadness in his voice.
Buffy grinned, moving down to kiss Spike again, "Bye Angel!" she said grinding into Spike. He groaned, grabbing the back of her neck, kissing her violently. She returned his vigour in full.
Suddenly she was ripped from his lips and body and thrown to the floor. She rose to see Angelus punching Spike repeatedly,
"Why Angel, I do believe you're jealous." she taunted. Her words stopped him and allowed Spike to get in a good punch, made much stronger from slayer blood.
The force sent Angelus flying.
Angel once again found himself back against the library doors. Buffy walked over to Spike, who wrapped his arms around her possessively.
"You know," Buffy began conversationally, "I've been reading up on vampire claims and since you never marked me, I never belonged to you or Angel." Spike grinned.
"Neither has Spike. That means you're mine because you gave me your virginity." Angelus spat; angered that she dared question his claim to her.
Buffy smiled evilly, shaking her head mockingly, "Oh no, that’s where you're wrong."
She moved her hair from her neck, tilting it slightly, allowing Angelus perfect view of the twin holes on her neck.
Spike ducked his head, running his tongue along the bite mark, making her shiver with desire. Meeting his sire's eyes Spike vamped out, sinking his fangs into the slayer's neck.
Angelus watched as Buffy moved her hand to his head holding him there. Sucking for a moment Spike removed his fangs, licking the mark again. "She's mine Angelus. My mate. I suggest you stay away unless you want to be swept away in a dust pan."
"What about Dru?" Angel asked, shocked that Spike would give her up, that was until he recalled whom he was giving her up for. Even he, Angelus, wanted the slayer as his own.
Spike shrugged indifferently, "Have her. Stay away from my slayer." He finished with a warning in his voice, one that even the older vampire was wary of.
"So, if we're all done here? Spike and I were busy..." Buffy said, looking pointedly at Angelus.
With a final growl, he left his coat billowing behind him.
Buffy turned in Spike's arms and giggled, before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. He broke it off saying, "Oh, before I forget, I…uh…I wanted you to have this." He reached into his duster pocket and removed a silk package.
Unwrapping it he showed Buffy the contents. The necklace cat-Buffy had liked so much.
"Oh, Spike!" She breathed, "Its beautiful!"
"You're beautiful." he replied, taking it and fastening it around her neck. Buffy smiled and stepped up and kissed him. Noticing the time and that Giles was due to be there in around two minutes she moved back.
"Giles'll be here any minute now, meet me outside...later?"
Spike smiled, "Sure, love." and disappeared into the stacks just as the watcher opened the doors. He walked in, carrying a stake, a large cross, and a confused expression.
"What's wrong, Giles?" Buffy asked, immediately worried.
"I just bumped into Angelus on my way here," he began but Buffy cut him off,
"Oh my God, Giles! Are you okay - did he hurt you, I swear if he hurt you..."
"He literally ran into me, then apologized, and ran out the doors. If I didn't know better I would say he had gotten his soul back."
"I think he's jealous." Buffy stated simply.
"Jealous?" Giles questioned.
"Giles, there’s something I didn't tell you about my kitty experience. I.... I well; I actually woke up on Spike. I think cat-me found her way to the mansion somehow." Buffy explained quietly, her eyes on the floor.
From the stacks, Spike watched the exchange, unsure what to do. Giles frowned slightly before asking, "Then why would Angelus be...oh." The watcher reddened as realization hit, then he looked at Buffy's ducked head and exploded, "ARE YOU INSANE?"
"I think so." she whispered, still not meeting his eyes, tears filling hers.
Calm swept over Giles at the sight of his ward crying, "You're falling in love with him?"
"I think so." she whispered again.
"I know this will sound strange Buffy but I must know, what..." Giles thought how to phrase his question of whether or not Spike wanted Buffy or wanted vampire Buffy. He knew that if Spike desired to mate with her then she would be safe from other vampires, though most human mates were turned. "What are his intentions?"
Buffy looked up quizzically at her watcher and was about to ask what he meant when Spike's voice rang out from above,
"She's my mate, watcher." he said walking down the steps from he stacks over to Buffy.
He tenderly wiped away the tears that had spilled over on to her cheeks before addressing the watcher, "I assume you have what that means in those books of yours - that I won't hurt her."
Giles swallowed his initial fear and spoke another, "Do you intend to turn her?"
"No," Spike replied turning to face Buffy, "Not if she doesn't want me to."
Buffy smiled at him and he leaned down, brushing a kiss across her forehead. Buffy was about to speak, but it came out as a yawn.
The watcher smiled fondly at her, "Buffy, I suggest you go home, you look tired." he looked up at Spike then back to Buffy whose eyes were drooping slightly, "We shall talk some more tomorrow."
"Thanks Giles, do me a favor - keep some heavy arsenal around, I don't want Angelus returning to take back his apology." She looked pleadingly at her watcher.
"I shall, goodnight Buffy."
"Night, Giles." He watched as Spike led his slayer out by the hand. Then he sat down at the table, dart gun in hand, and looked at the open books in front of him; various texts about vampire behaviour, all open at similar points, describing the 'purring' noise made after sex or the mating ritual.
He picked up the book Buffy had been reading and reread through it, all the while his mind ticking over the blonde vampire's behaviour.
All his research should have led him to believe that Spike was the epitome of a soulless vampire, but the tenderness he had seen shown to his ward this evening was as soulful as any he knew.
He knew that he should attempt to stop this relationship between William the Bloody and the slayer but for some unknown reason he was compelled to do the opposite, as if guided by some powers that be.
Spike followed Buffy up the tree next to her perpetually open window, both carefully climbing in. Buffy spared a glance to ensure that her door was locked before remembering that Joyce was away for the weekend, on a buying trip for the gallery.
With infinite care and slowness, they stripped one another, falling into bed together, making love for hours.
As the sun neared its arrival, Buffy turned her head slightly, pressing a gentle kiss to Spike's side, before looking up at him with pleading eyes, "Stay with me today?"
Spike smiled at her, slightly shocked that she thought he'd want to leave her.
"No intention to go," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips, "What about your mum?" he asked.
"She's away for the weekend, won't be back until Sunday evening." she said smiling.
"I hope you didn't have any plans for the weekend, pet. 'Cause I'm not letting you out of this bed until then."
Buffy giggled, "I can cancel."
"That you can." Spike stated, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. A thought entered Buffy's mind and she broke away.
"I'll be back in a minute," she answered his questioning look, slipping on a thin silk robe and leaving the room.
She returned a few minutes later, blankets in hand, to find Spike taunting Angelus.