The Beginning
By Len
Spoilers: Up until ‘Gone’.
Teaser: A follow-up conversation snippet to
‘Confusion, Conversations’, wherein Spike finally tells Willow what
the deal is. Friendshippy.
Rating: Let’s say
PG-13, just in case.
Notes: B/Sers don’t stake me. I’ve been a W/Ser since he first
kidnapped her for the love spell.
No amount of slayer shagging will change that. I’ve tried to embrace Buffy/Spike, honestly, but
I…I just can’t! <sigh>
Archive: Please? It’d make my day.
Feedback: Ditto!
Spike and Willow sit side by side on the curb outside the Magic Box, shoulders touching. Willow’s eyes are wide and staring at an indiscriminate spot in the distance; Spike looks a little worse for wear, his hair stuck up at odd angles. The silence stretches on, weaving through the nighttime pedestrian noises that surround them. Spike sighs and nudges Willow with his elbow. No response. He tries again.
“…”
“Say something, damn it!”
“Um…wow?”
“Gee, that’s really bloody helpful,
Red. Glad I told you. Thanks a heap.”
“Well…um…wow. Just – wow.”
“You did say that if there was anything you
could do…”
“No I didn’t! I said that if you ever wanted to tell me something, I would
listen.”
“Well, there was, and I told you. Now what?”
“Sheeze, Spike. Just give me a minute to absorb this. You and Buffy…”
“Yeah?”
“Y-you an-and Buffy…”
“Is it really that hard to believe?”
“Well…nooo…but you guys are mortal
enemies. She doesn’t like
you, you don’t like her. Or,
at least that where I thought we left off last episode…”
“What are you on about…?”
“I’m thinking that ‘What am I
on?’ would be a better question to ask, Spike. Because this is kind of…”
“Right.
Just forget I said anything, then.
I can’t believe I was bloody ponce enough to tell a little witch,
anyway.”
“No, Spike. It’s not like that. I think it’s great that you found someone to be with,
and it’s wonderful that Buffy has moved on, as well. You both deserve to be
happy…”
“…”
“Okay, Mr. Bad-Ass Vamp, Buffy deserves it,
then. But you’re my friend,
and I hated seeing you depressed…”
“…”
“Uh oh.
Spike, what else did you want to tell me?”
“The Slayer an’ me…we broke it
off.”
“WHAT?!”
“Close your mouth, pet. I can see all the way to your
knickers.”
“…”
“Why so shocked? Didn’t think I had it in me to drop a slayer?”
“Not romantically, no. You broke up?”
“Bloody Hell, Will! Didn’t I just say that? Is this gonna be like that whole Glory cloak thing?”
“I’m sorry, Spike.”
“Is it really so hard to wrap your twisty little
– what?”
“I said, ‘I’m sorry’. I think you must’ve really loved
her.”
“…”
“Oh…there,
there…um…it’ll be okay….oh, don’t, Spike. I’m going to start crying,
too!”
“…That’s what so awful about
it…!”
“Hush…um, what?”
“…I don’t even know if I did!”
“Sure you did, Spike. We could all see it.
Well, we could see the whole ‘obsessive stalker’ part of
it…but I’m sure there was love, too.”
“I mean, I know I…y’know…*respect*
her…oh, hell, I’m gonna chunder. *Respect*. What
are things coming to?”
“Of course you do. Everybody does.
How can you not respect her?
She’s the slayer!”
“Luv, in my book that’s one big bloody
point against.”
“Oh.
Right. But my point
is—“
“Doesn’t matter. I’m a demon.”
“I know that.”
“I don’t do the whole yippee-skippy
team-work gig well.”
“Really?”
“I don’t do the lone wolf thing well,
either.”
“But you’ve never been alone, Spike. First you had Angelus, then
Dru…”
“…”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“You think Buffy was a fill-in for Dru?”
“I dunno.”
“That really is….eik! Buffy? Dru?
C’mon, Spike! Do they
have anything in common?”
“Besides an intense inability to deal with
life?”
“Buffy’s not that bad!”
“I like being needed. Odd, that - for a vampire. Isn’t it?
Must be all those bleedin’ Arthurian legends and Dickensian crap
of my youth, I suppose… ”
“But after Buffy died…”
“I shattered. Yeah, yeah. But
she was shattered, too. It was one
big slayer puzzle, just begging to be put back together…”
“…”
“…”
“Give me your hand.”
“Wh-what?
You’re not going to do your weird little hoodoo thing, are
you?”
“Spike!
I don’t do that anymore, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.
Or bad things’ll happen, blah blah.”
“I just thought you could use a little human
contact, that’s all.”
“She treated me like I was, you
know.”
“Who?
Buffy?”
“Yeah.
And then when she came back, I thought she wanted me.”
“Spike.
Buffy’s not like that.
If you and she had a…relationship…then she meant it. Maybe you should give her another
chance.”
“She’s uninvited me again, pet. That’s not what good
relationships are formed on – believe me, I was with Dru for a century,
and it only took me a couple hours to realize things went better if we were in
the same room.”
“I could talk to her…hmm. Well, I could drop her hints, or
something.”
“How about you hocus-pocus her into believing
I’m alive with a very slow metabolism? ‘Cause the blood-sucking, havoc-wrecking, ass-kicking
demon isn’t toasting her muffin anymore.”
“No hocus-pocusing. Just me.
I’ll try, Spike.”
“Nah, Will. It’s over.”
“You sure?”
“In my marrow.”
“I know the feeling.”
“Yeah.
Um…sorry about your girl, Red.”
“My fault. I always kinda knew she was scared of my magic…but it
is—was—part of what I am.
Yeah – I went all trippy and nutso for a while, but…”
“Hmm?”
“I was growing, and she never liked it. And oh boy, did I sound like an Oprah
guest just then.”
“Witches and the Witches Who Love Them?”
“More like the Witches Who Leave Them.”
“…”
“Pet?”
“Yeah, Spike?”
“We certainly are the pair, aren’t
we?”
“Yup.
Spike and Willow’s Lonely Heart’s Club.”
“We could start a band if we have bad 70’s
suits.”
“And musical talent.”
“A tour-bus.”
“A product-endorsement contract.”
“One of the Cohens to direct our music
video.”
“Groupies”
“Yum!”
“Spike!”
“Sorry, Red. Caught up in some memories, there.”
“When did you—no. On second thought, I don’t even
want to know.”
“The story’s frackin’
hilarious.”
“I’m sure it is. Maybe later.”
“Really?”
“What?”
“Later?
Your bestest bosom buddy in there has developed an allergic reaction to
me.”
“So I’ll be careful not to get Spike-hair
on my clothes. Sheeze – what
kind of…You’re my friend too, Spike, sort of! You’ve saved my life and,
you know, not eaten me more times than I can count! How could you think that I would just walk away and ignore
you or hate you after *you* were the one to tell me—“
“…”
“Whoa.”
“Say what?”
“You did the hand thing again. With the kissing, and the lips, and the
hand. It surprised me,
that’s all.”
“Bloody
Arthurian legends.”
“It’s very sweet.”
“Say that again and I’ll—“
“What?”
“Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t look so bloody curious,
Red. Its killin’ my ego. Used to be people would faint at my
feet when I said that.”
“Oh?
What was wrong with your feet?”
“You know, you are the strangest thing.”
“Yup.
And you’re totally normal, Mr. I’ve Lost Track of the
Decades.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“No, really. Thanks. It was
killing me – and don’t say it! I know I’m dead.”
“But your heart’s not.”
“No, it’s dead too.”
“That’s not what I meant, Spike.”
“I know.
Just thought the moment was getting a bit mushy.”
“You’re so romantic.”
“Yeah.
Let’s blow this joint, Red.
Have a bit of fun before we go back to our miserable existences.”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
“No vamp bars?”
“Not unless you’re keen…”
“Not happening, Spike. No strip clubs?”
“Aw, pet.
I thought you’d like that!”
“They’re demeaning towards women.”
“Then I’m out of ideas.”
“How about ice-cream? We could get you a nice bloody snow-cone. What do you say?”
“Why, Will! That’s genius!
Maybe take in a film – the new serial-killer flick is out!”
“Nothing like a little bloodshed to get over old
loves…”
“Age-old
vampire adage. Well, that and
‘Nothing like cutting off your lover’s head to get over
them’. Get it? ‘Get over’?”
“Very funny. Let’s go.”
~~ Spike stands
and hauls Willow to her feet, before draping an arm around her shoulders to
guide her down the sidewalk. ~~
“Brilliant. You know something, Red? This could be the beginning of a beautiful
friendship.”
“Your impression sucks.”
“So do I.”
“And I saw *that* one coming.”
The End
