moonlit observation
by michelle

Disclaimer:  None of these characters belong to me.  They are all the property of Warner Brothers and
Mutant Enemy and are the creation of Joss Whedon.  Thanks man!

The full moon hanging over the sleepy town of Sunnydale made spying laughably easy, Spike thought.
Of course, it also made the risk of being discovered that much greater so he would have to be careful.
He crouched down behind a leafy bush and peered through the leaves, keeping the front window and
the walk leading up to the front door in clear view.  She should be getting home any minute now and he
wanted to be well out of sight before she got there.  As he sat, waiting, he heard a slight rustle from the
other side of the yard.  “Damn,” he swore.  “What is he doing here?  Why doesn’t he go spend time with
his little girlfriend?”

He started to emerge from the obscurity of the bush in order to head across the yard when he heard the
unmistakable sound of the Slayer and her friend walking down the street.  Quickly he ducked back
behind the bush before they could see him.  He would have an awful lot of explaining to do if they
caught him here and there was no way in hell he was going to justify himself to the Slayer.  He watched
silently as the Slayer and the girl said their goodbyes for the evening and then waited while the girl
entered her house and Buffy continued down her street alone.  << Hmm, >> he thought.  << Where’s
that idiot boy who always tags along with them?  Has he decided he’s tortured that poor girl enough?
>>  Then he caught the direction his thoughts had once again taken and swore.  << Dammit!  You do
not care about her!  And you do not feel sorry for her.  She is the Slayer’s puppet and you don’t care.
>>

Then, before he could berate himself any further, he heard the noise again and carefully made his way
across the yard, keeping himself out of sight.  When he reached the other end of the grass, he ducked
behind another bush and looked over at the man who crouched a few feet away.  “Angelus,” he
drawled, a wicked smile touching his lips.  “What are you doing here?”

Angel looked over at his peroxide-blonde nemesis.  “I could ask you the same thing,” he stated, trying to
evade the question.

“You could,” Spike smiled, “but I asked first.  Why are you here?  Shouldn’t you be off following the
Slayer around like a lost puppy?”

“And shouldn’t you be off catering to a psychotic female vampire?” Angel retaliated and then started at
the look of pain that crossed Spike’s face.  “What happened?” he asked, his voice carrying a note of
concern.  He had created Spike and Dru after all.  He still felt some responsibility for them.

“It doesn’t matter,” Spike stated firmly, ending that line of discussion.  “You didn’t answer my question.
Since when do you spy on the Slayer’s little friend?”

“She’s my friend, too” Angel answered lamely.  He didn’t want to think about why he was really here.
He knew, however, that what he felt for Willow went far beyond friendship.  She had saved him, more
than once actually, and he felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude towards her.  First, she had
returned his soul to him.  And then she had risked everything to pull him out of hell.  It was not an easy
spell by any means, and she had wound up nearly drained by the time it was finished and Angel was
once again up on earth where he belonged.  For that he was grateful, and they had formed a powerful
friendship.  Then he found himself falling in love with her.  It wouldn’t be fair to her or Buffy to admit,
though, so he remained in the shadows, watching from a distance.

“Do you always spy on your friends?” Spike asked.

“No, of course not.  She had a rough day, though, so I thought I’d check up on her.”

“If you two are such good friends, why don’t you just go up there and see her?  I’m sure she wouldn’t
mind seeing you,” Spike’s voice had a wry note to it.  “Wait a minute.  What did you say?  What do you
mean she had a rough day?  What happened?”

“That idiot Xander finally told her how he feels about her,” Angel growled.

“Confused her, did it?” Spike asked, watching Willow through the window.  He felt his heart constrict
when he saw her sitting next to the window.  He pulled out his cigarettes and put one in his mouth,
reminding himself that he didn’t really care about her.  Then he remembered where he was and
thought better of lighting it.

Angel watched with amusement as Spike put the cigarette in his mouth then discarded it angrily.  Then
he turned his gaze back to the window.  “Yes,” he answered, finally remembering that Spike had asked
him a question.  “She’d pretty much convinced herself that he could never feel that way about her.  Now
he does, but I don’t think she’s sure about how she feels.  The fool just blurted it out right there in the
Bronze.  She ran out of there crying and with Buffy running behind her.”

“Did he at least have the decency to apologize?” Spike asked.  He didn’t like that Xander boy.

“Did you see him come here with them?” Angel returned.  “I told him to go home and that he had done
enough damage for one night.”

“Good,” Spike said reluctantly.  He didn’t want to admit that he agreed with Angel, but he did.  That boy
needed to get a brain in his head.  Then something hit him.  “Why is she sitting in the living room by
herself? Doesn’t she have parents or someone to comfort her?” he asked angrily.

“They’re out of town,” Angel explained, and then grabbed Spike’s arm as he started to jump out from
behind the bush.  “What are you doing?”

“I’m going up there to protect…her,” he hissed, his voice trailing off to a whisper as he realized that
Willow would never allow him to do that.

“Do you think she’s going to let you in?” Angel asked.  “I don’t think so.  Now just sit back down.”

“What the hell are they doing leaving a tiny girl like her home by herself?” Spike demanded.  “Even if a
vampire, ghost, or random demon didn’t get her, a robber, murderer, or rapist could.  Why on earth
would her parents leave her here alone?” he repeated, anger and fear gripping him.

“That’s why I’m here,” Angel answered.  “I’m going to watch out for her while her parents are gone.
Now why are you here?  If you’re planning anything, I’ll kill you.”

“No, I’m not planning anything.  Willow saved my life last week and I’m just grateful, okay?” Spike said
defensively.

“Willow saved your life?” Angel asked incredulously.  “When?  And why?” he added.

“It was about a week ago.  She was walking home from the Bronze, by herself, I might add, and she
saw this young one trying to kill me.  He had decided that he was sick of me being in charge and he
wanted me dead.  He caught me by surprise and was ready to stake me when Willow came along.
She killed him and let me go, saying that it was in return for helping Buffy save Giles from you.  Now, I
owe her, so I’ve been coming every night for the past week to check on her,” Spike explained.

“Willow staked a vampire?” Angel asked, his voice full of admiration.

“Yeah,” Spike smiled, remembering the look on her face when the young one had exploded into dust
particles.  “It was pretty impressive.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, his mind lingering over the memory.  She saved his life, even after
all the terrible things he had done to her and her friends.  She was brave and strong and…sane, which
was a combination he had not seen in a woman in a long time.  He didn’t fall in love with her simply
because she saved his life, though.  That would be ridiculous.  He loved her because she watched
cartoons at night in her living room and laughed at all the same places Spike found amusing.  He loved
her because she was smart, funny, sweet, and good.  He loved her because of who she was, and he
loved her even though he tried not to.  His mind quickly flashed through all of these thoughts and then
he opened his eyes again.  When he did so, he saw something that caused him to nearly jump out of
his skin.  Willow was crying.  She was staring out the window, tears streaming down her cheeks.  He
nodded his head at Angel, who looked in the direction he pointed and sighed.

“Poor thing,” Angel said quietly.  His heart broke for her, wishing he could drive the tears away.

“Go in there,” Spike said, his voice full of a pain that caused Angel to stare at him.  “She needs
someone to take care of her.  I’ll stay out here and make sure nobody gets in.”

“All right,” Angel said reluctantly, uncertain about whether it was a good idea for him to be alone with
her.  He didn’t want to say anything that would make her more confused than she already was, but he
wasn’t sure that he would be able to stop himself.

He rose slowly to head for the door and was surprised when Spike followed him.  Throwing a look over
his shoulder, he gave Spike an inquisitive look.

“I need to tell her something,” Spike answered the unspoken question.

“What’s that?” Angel asked curiously.

“That Dru won’t be bothering her any more.”  When he saw the curious expression return to Angel’s
face he continued.  “She’s dead,” he said quietly.

“What?  How did she die?” Angel asked, the alarm evident in his voice.

“I killed her.”

Spike’s voice was cold and quiet, but Angel knew that he was hiding a pain deeper than any Angel had
ever felt.  “I’m sorry,” he said simply, unable to think of anything more helpful.

“So am I,” Spike answered as they reached the front door.

Angel rang the doorbell and waited for Willow to answer the door.  When she did so her cheeks were
streaked by the trails of her tears.  She looked so lost and forlorn that it nearly broke the hearts of the
two men who loved her no matter how hard they fought against it.

“Angel?” she asked quietly.  “What are you doing here?”

“I came to make sure you’re all right,” Angel explained.  “I hope Xander didn’t upset you too much.”

“I’m okay.  Thank you,” she said, bestowing the most beautiful smile Angel had ever seen on him.  “Do
you want to come in?”

Angel smiled, knowing how much faith she had to have in him to make that simple offer.  “Yes, I think I’d
like that,” he said moving forward, which caused Willow to see Spike for the first time.

He was sitting on the front porch, waiting for Angel to finish talking to Willow so he could have an
opportunity to tell her about Dru.  He wanted her to know that she didn’t need to be afraid of Drusilla any
longer.

“Spike?” Willow asked, her voice carrying a certain note that caused Spike to spin around to look at her.
“Are you going to sit out here all night or are you going to come inside?”

“Are you sure?” he asked hopefully and then smiled when she nodded.  “Okay,” he agreed, jumping to
his feet.  As he entered the door, he asked, “So what the hell were your parents thinking, leaving you
here alone?”

“They weren’t going to,” Willow answered.  “I was going to stay at Xander’s, but then I decided a couple
nights ago that I would be safer here than anywhere else,” she added, smiling knowingly and closing
the front door behind her.

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