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As she walked toward the door, she smiled. They were there, of
course, right where she expected
them to be. Their mere presence filled her with happiness and
she almost felt like giggling as she
opened the front door and stepped into the dark house. Turning
on the lights, she walked into the living
room and the situation hit her again with full force. Pain and
anger washed over her and tears once
again stung her eyes. Feeling the energy pour out of her, she
went over to the radio and turned it on. It
was already tuned to a country station. << Perfect, >>
Willow thought wryly. << The music of pain. >>
Tiredly, she sank into a chair by the window and closed her eyes, letting
the music envelop her. They
seemed to be having a marathon of sad songs or something, which fit
Willow's somber mood perfectly.
Only half-listening to the music, she sat back and allowed her thoughts
to drift where they would.
Naturally, her traitorous mind couldn't think of something warm and
fuzzy.
Instead, it tenaciously held to the memory of Xander finally saying
the words Willow had waited a
lifetime to hear. She should have been exuberant, filled with
a happiness that she thought she would
never experience. But Xander had chosen to finally unburden his
soul exactly five days after Willow had
awaken one morning to find herself no longer in love with him.
She had gone to school that day and
had actually felt happy for Xander when she saw him with Cordelia.
A weight had been lifted from her
shoulders and she had been really happy for the rest of the week.
<< And then tonight he has to go
and tell me he loves me? >> The tears that had been stinging
her eyes rolled down her cheeks as
fresh ones entered.
More than anything, Willow wanted to stop crying. << I feel
like an idiot. Why do I keep crying? Where
do all of these tears come from? Buffy wouldn't cry if this happened
to her. She'd just tell Xander she
didn't love him and she'd be fine. Why can't I do that? >>
<< Because you're not Buffy, >> she answered her own question.
She angrily brushed aside the tears and turned her thoughts away from
Buffy. As much as she loved
her friend, she didn't want to think about her at the moment.
<< Who are you kidding? It's because you
love her that you don't want to think about her right now? You
can't stop fantasizing about her boyfriend
for God's sake! You feel guilty. >>
As they inevitably always did, her thoughts drifted to the vampires
sitting somewhere out on her front
lawn. She had been thinking about both of them a lot in the past
week and she knew she was going to
have to make a move soon. She had already decided not to sit
around waiting as she had with
Xander. The only problem was that she had a fairly important
decision to make and she had no idea
how she was going to do it. Turning the chair around to face
the window, she looked out, searching for
Angel and Spike. She didn't really expect to be able to see them
since they usually kept themselves
hidden, but, as always, she felt the need to at least try.
Smiling sadly, Willow thought about the two men she had somehow fallen
in love with. << God, why
does this have to happen to me? >> she implored the heavens.
<< Why can't I just fall in love with one
nice, normal, mortal guy? I would have to fall for two vampires,
one of whom is the boyfriend of one of
my best friends. Why does this happen? >>
<< Because fate hates you, >> she once again answered her own
question. She had been carrying
on conversations with herself a lot lately. << Somebody
somewhere doesn't want you to have a
normal, teenage romance. Instead, they want your life to be as
complicated as they can possibly make
it. Hence, throwing Spike into the mix. >>
Her life had been going along fairly smoothly, albeit guiltily since
she was in love with her best friend's
boyfriend, until Spike entered the picture. Then somehow he had
wormed his way into her mind as
well until she soon thought of little besides the two vampires.
Her mind brought his face into the
forefront and she smiled softly as she continued looking out the window.
Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a faint rustle of leaves
in one of the bushes. << Aha!
>> she thought, turning her head to look more closely at the bush on
the edge of the lawn. << There's
one of them. I wonder which one.>> After a minute had passed
with no further motion, she allowed
her eyes to drift back across the yard. Her mind followed
for a moment or two and then once again
turned inward to reflect on the jumbled mess her life had become.
Closing her eyes, Willow forced herself to confront her feelings.
<< I love them both, >> she decided.
There was no getting around that. As much as she had tried to
change her emotions, there was
nothing she could do. Now she had to decide what she wanted to
do about it. She knew she couldn't
wait around feeling sorry for herself any more. That part of
her life was over. She had to decide which
one of the two vampires she wanted to be with and tell him. She
was still terrified of rejection, of course,
but she knew both of them well enough to know neither one of them would
ever make the first move, so
her only hope would be to speak up. If they didn't love her,
that would just have to be something she'd
learn to deal with.
<< How do I make a decision like that, though? How do I
decide who I want to be with when what I
decide has the potential to hurt so many people? And how do I
decide when I love them both so
much? >> Tears once again welled up in her eyes, but this time
Willow made no attempt to brush
them away. These tears were perfectly respectable when faced
with a problem like this, she decided.
As she stared out the window, tears streaming down her face, she saw
Angel rise from behind the
bush. << Ah, so he was the one back there. >> Then
she saw Spike rise from behind the same bush
and gasped. << They were sitting together? That's
strange. I thought they hated each other. >> She
watched in fascination as the two slowly made their way up to the front
door, Angel pausing to say
something to Spike. They continued talking as they made their
way to the front door. << Interesting, >>
Willow thought, watching them. << I wonder what they're
talking about. >>
When she heard the doorbell, the reality of the situation hit her.
<< Oh my God, >> she thought,
panicking. << They're coming to the door! They want
to talk to me! But, but I haven't decided yet!
How do I talk to them without both of them figuring out that I love
them? AARGH! >> her mind
screamed as she hurried to the door.
Opening the door, she stared out at Angel, not thinking until the last
minute what she must look like.
Seeing Angel's face, her heart started beating a little faster, but
she hid her happiness behind a mask of
confusion. "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.”
At this, Willow felt like laughing out loud. Xander had upset
her, of course, but she had nearly forgotten
about it already. Besides, Angel sounded so concerned that Willow
knew he must feel something for
her. Perhaps it was nothing more than friendship, but she could
deal with that if that was the way he
felt. He was a really good friend, after all. Instead of
laughing, though, she just smiled. "I'm okay.
"Thank you," she told him, and then took the plunge. "Do you
want to come in?" she asked, trying to
keep the hopeful tone out of her voice and make it sound like a casual
offer.
Then he smiled at her and Willow thought her heart would burst.
"Yes, I think I’d like that," he said
moving forward.
As he moved, she saw Spike sitting on the porch behind him. She
felt her heart contsrict when she
saw him. <<Damn!>> she thought. She had been hoping
that maybe seeing both of them would help
her decide which she loved most. Of course, she still felt the
same way about both of them. "Spike?"
she asked, unable this time to keep a faintly hopeful note out of her
voice. When he turned to look at
her, she continued, "Are you going to sit out here all night or are
you going to come inside?"
"Are you sure?" Spike asked and Willow thought she heard a hopeful tone
in his voice as well. He
smiled when she nodded. "Okay," he said, jumping to his feet.
As he entered the house in front of her,
he asked, "So what the hell were your parents thinking, leaving you
here alone?"
She smiled. She had wondered how long it would be before he asked
her that. "They weren’t going
to," she 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. She hoped they would catch on to the fact that she knew
they were out there every night, but they
didn't.
The trio entered the living room and Spike arched an eyebrow when he
heard the music. "Do you
actually like this stuff?" he asked, turning to Willow.
She smiled shyly. She had forgotten to turn off the radio before
opening the door, so now they knew
she'd been listening to country music. "Not really," she admitted.
"It was just on the radio when I turned
it on. I wasn't really listening to it anyway," she continued.
"I was just thinking."
"And crying," Angel said softly, motioning to her tear-stained face.
"Are you sure you're all right?" This
time Willow was sure she heard a real tone of concern to his voice.
"Yeah," she said smiling and allowing her happiness to shine through.
"I'm fine. Xander just took me
by surprise is all. I'm not in love with him any more," she admitted,
feeling comfortable enough to tell
them that. "Do you mind if I get something to drink?" she asked
them, heading for the kitchen. "I'm
sorta thirsty now."
"Fine with me," Spike said, looking around the homey living room.
Pictures of Willow and her parents
hung on the walls and Spike looked at them curiously, wanting to see
how the tiny red-head he knew
had developed. She had been an adorable little girl, Spike decided.
"That's fine," Angel agreed and sat down on the sofa, waiting for Willow to return.
She re-entered the living room, holding a glass of iced tea. Smiling
at her two friends, she sat down in
a chair. "So," she asked finally. "What are you doing here?
Wait," she said quickly before Angel could
once again ask her how she was doing. "I'm fine. I guess
I meant what is Spike doing here?" she
smiled at Spike.
"Well, um," Spike said, clearing his throat. He looked around
the room, trying to find a way to stall the
rest of the conversation. Finally deciding there was no real
way around it, he looked up into Willow's
eyes. "I just wanted to tell you that Drusilla is dead.
She won't try to hurt you again."
Willow, who had just taken a drink of tea, spit it out in her surprise.
"D-dead?" she stammered, shocked
more than she had ever been in her life. "How did she die?"
"I killed her," Spike answered sadly, his voice barely audible.
"I'm sorry that she tried to kill you," he
added, lowering his gaze to the ground.
At this, Angel looked up in surprise. "What do you mean Dru tried
to kill her?" Angel asked furiously,
glaring at Spike. He knew that it wasn't really Spike's fault,
but he had to direct his anger somewhere.
"Angel, calm down," Willow said in a no-nonsense voice, causing Angel
to settle back into his chair
quietly. "It happened a few nights ago. I was walking home
from the Bronze and Drusilla attacked me.
Spike stopped her. That's pretty much it," she concluded, forcing
her voice to remain calm.
She knew she was lying though. That wasn't it. Sure, she
had given him the basic rundown of what
had happened. She had left out a few key details, though.
Like the way she and Spike had simply
stared at each other for a good five minutes after Drusilla finally
ran off. And the way her heart had felt
like it was going to pound out of her chest when she looked at him.
And the way, days later, the mere
thought of him still made her knees go weak and her head swim.
She had left all of that out, and so the
version Angel got was only a partial telling, the shadow of the truth.
She couldn't tell him that, however. How could she admit that
right or wrong she had fallen in love with
a monster that she had sworn she would always hate? How could
she explain that she saw past the
demon and knew beyond any doubt that there was a good person underneath?
Could Angel
understand that? Could he accept that perhaps all of their beliefs
about vampires were somehow
wrong? Of course not. So she kept all of those details,
the ones that said what really happened that
night, to herself and sighed softly, glancing at Spike.
"She was planning to kill me tonight," Willow said quietly. It
was a statement, not a question. "Is that
why you killed her?" she asked, looking up at Spike. "Did you
find out?"
"I had her followed last night. I was told about the run-in," Spike answered thoughtfully.
"Never mind, Angel," Willow said quickly, cutting him off before he
could ask his next question. "I was
fine. I was expecting her that time. I had the stake pointed
at her heart. The only reason she lived past
last night was her relationship with Spike," she continued, looking
over at said vampire. "You saved
me," she said, speaking directly to Spike. "I couldn't kill her.
I knew she would come after me, but I
couldn't do it," she admitted, turning her gaze downward.
"Luv, if you had killed her, what would I have done tonight?" Spike said lightly, trying to cheer Willow up.
"Well..." Willow drawled, a slow smile spreading across her face as
she realized what Spike was
doing. "You could always have tried killing me or one of my friends.
Isn't that your normal occupation?"
"Lately I haven't been doing that have I?" Spike answered. "Hmm, maybe
I should go kill the Slayer to
remedy that."
"Buffy's my friend," Willow objected. "How about Cordelia?" she
added mischievously, a glint in her
eye.
"Willow Rosenberg!" Angel laughed. "I can't believe you'd let him kill one of your friends!"
"Cordelia Chase is not now nor has she ever been my friend. She
is someone I unfortunately have to
see every day," Willow protested.
"Can I kill that Xander boy?" Spike suggested.
"No," Willow said, sobering instantly. "He's still my best friend.
I don't want anyone hurting him. Is that
clear?" she asked, pointedly looking at Spike and Angel. When
they avoided her gaze, she repeated,
"Is that clear? I may not be in love with him, but I still love
him. You can't hurt him. I want you both to
promise."
"But," Spike began, but was quickly cut off by Willow.
"No buts. Leave him alone. Everyone else is fair game I
guess, Spike. But leave Xander alone. I'm
serious Spike," she said, turning her piercing gaze towards him.
Spike faced her gaze head-on for several moments. For a moment
he lost his reality somewhere in
her eyes, but then he remembered where he was and with what company.
He shook his head to clear
it and then nodded slowly. "No hurting the boy. Got it.
But the Slayer? Oh come on," he said in
response to the look on Willow's face. "She can take care of
herself. It might actually be a fair fight if
you all stay out of it and let me face her one-on-one."
"No," Willow said firmly.
"Why not?" Spike whined, causing Angel to chuckle softly. Spike
shot him a dangerous look and turned
his attention back to Willow.
"You'd kill her," Willow said simply.
"You don't know that," Spike disagreed.
"I know you and I know her," she explained. "You could kill her
if she didn't have anybody helping her.
She's not strong enough to face you alone."
Spike searched for a moment for an appropriate response. Finally
a childish grin spread across his
face. "Really?" he asked happily. "I'm that strong?"
Angel had been becoming more and more amused the more obvious it became
that Spike was
completely under Willow's spell. He tried to control his laughter
but was ultimately unsuccessful as he
howled in mirth at Spike's last question.
Spike glared at his sire. "Are you laughing at me Angelus?
Mr.
'She's-my-friend-so-I'm-going-to-spy-on-her'? You're laughing
at me?"
"Hold it. You're the one who spies on her because she-what?-saved
your life? What's so much better
about that? Last time I checked, people didn't really acknowledge
being stalked as appropriate thanks,"
Angel retorted, growing angry.
"I wouldn't know about that," Spike answered in a low, dangerous voice,
rising to his feet. "You're the
expert on stalking around here. So, do you still follow women
around? Is that how you and Buffy
met?" When he saw the look on Angel's face, he laughed.
"It is, isn't it? And you call me a stalker! At
least I have a reason to be watching out for Willow! What was
your reason with Buffy?"
"Oh? What's this all-important reason of yours? And don't
tell me that she saved your life and you owe
her. I know you, remember? You don't pay a debt to anyone,
least of all the Slayer's best friend. So,
what was that reason again?" Angel shot back, also rising and walking
toward Spike.
"What was yours?" Spike yelled, anger building in him. He knew
what was going to happen. Willow
would choose Angel over him. Just like Dru. He would lose
her to him and there was nothing he could
do about it. Angel was right, Spike knew. Willow would
know that he didn't deserve her. "Why were
you sitting out on her front lawn spying on her? She's your friend!
She'd let you in whenever you
wanted! Instead, you watch her from the bushes! Why?
Oh, maybe you feel guilty since you already
have a girlfriend!"
"And you don't?" Angel's voice rose in volume to match Spike's.
He was also feeling insecure after
seeing the easy banter Spike and Willow had shared earlier. "What
about Dru? She's not your
girlfriend?"
"No, actually, she's not," Spike roared. "Thanks to you!" he added.
"As if she weren't bad enough
before, getting you back and then losing you again pretty much turned
her into a raving lunatic! She
walked around most of the night looking for YOU and when she couldn't
find you she decided to try
killing Willow. Congratulations. You got everything you
always wanted. She had a complete psychotic
break! I hope you're happy," he finished, his nose inches from
Angel's face.
Their faces had both morphed into their vampiric visages long ago and
Willow stood staring at the two
vampires with fear in her eyes. She knew that neither of them
would hurt her, but she was fairly sure
that they hated each other enough to cause physical harm. She
knew she had to diffuse the situation
quickly, but she wasn't exactly certain how to do so. Carefully
stepping towards them, she tried calming
them. "Um, guys?" she said, still inching towards them.
"Do you think you could just step away from
each other for me, please?" She gulped when the two turned to
look at her, but didn't back down. "Just
step back."
As they followed her order, the tension in the room subsided.
They both kept their "game faces" for a
few minutes and then those too faded away. Willow continued staring
at them until they both stood with
their own normal faces. She let out a sigh of relief when they
were finally back to normal. The two
vampires continued to regard each other cagily, each waiting for the
other to make a move. Finally,
when they had calmed enough for her taste, Willow placed herself between
them.
"Okay, you two," she said, turning her head from one to the other.
"What the hell was that about?" She
was pleased to see that they both had the decency to at least look
sheepish. Neither one of them
answered, though, and she stared them down. Finally deciding
that neither of them was going to
venture anything, she prodded them again. "Well? You guys
just started fighting out of nowhere.
What's going on?" She was confused. They were fighting
over something, but she wasn't sure what it
was.
Angel looked around the room uncomfortably. << Oh hell,
>> he thought blindly. << How do I answer
that? Oh, we're fighting over you because we're both in love
with you? And then Spike rips my spinal
cord out and serves it on a platter. That would be just perfect.
I'm sure he would just love for me to tell
her that.>>
"It's just something that goes way back," Spike explained smoothly,
only partially lying. "We don't like
each other and sometimes we let that get the best of us. Sorry,
luv. I don't know what got into me."
"And you?" Willow asked pointedly, shooting a look at Angel.
"Yeah, same thing," Angel said quickly.
"Uh-huh, sure. You're both lying through your pointy little teeth.
That was about a lot more than just not
liking each other," she returned. "Oh well, never mind.
Look, we're going to have to talk about this
eventually. So, let's just do it. Why don't the two of
you sit down?" she asked them. "On separate sides
of the room," she added when they both moved to sit on the couch.
"Okay," she said when they sat
down. "Would you like to explain why the two of you have been
hanging out on my lawn lately?" she
asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Um, no?" Angel questioned carefully.
"Wrong answer," Willow informed him. "Why have you been hanging
out on my lawn? Even Buffy's
starting to notice that you've been lurking around her a lot less than
usual. I know you've both been out
there. I just don't know why."
"Do we have to talk about this right now?" Angel responded.
"Yeah, actually we do. I can only keep Buffy from seeing you both
out there for so long. How am I
supposed to explain it to her if she finds out when I don't even know
why you're there?" Willow asked.
"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it. I've felt safer here in
the past week than I have in years, but I would
still like to know why."
Spike, who had been silent for several minutes, finally spoke up.
"I've been here to make sure Dru
didn't hurt you."
Willow regarded him for a moment and then decided to go ahead with her
challenge. "And tonight?"
she asked, giving him a look. When he looked at her curiously
she continued, "Drusilla is dead. She
can't hurt me. What were you doing out there tonight?"
"I wasn't out there. I just came over to tell you about Dru," Spike lied.
"I know you were out there. You were both out by that bush over
there," Willow, who had moved to the
window, pointed in the direction of said bush. I could feel you
when I came home. You're lucky Buffy
didn't figure out you were both here. She probably would've staked
you," she said, turning to Spike.
"So why? I just don't understand. I mean, I understood
when Angel was following Buffy around. Who
wouldn't? She's pretty and strong and funny, but I'm just me.
Plain, boring me. Why are you staking
out my house?" she concluded, her frustration and confusion showing
through.
Spike stared at her for a moment in desbelief. Finally realizing
that she meant what she was saying, he
said, What in the world are you talking about? Exactly which
Buffy are you referring to, pet?"
Willow raised her eyes to stare into his. She regarded him for
a long moment and then answered,
"Buffy Summers...vampire slayer? Remember her?"
"The Slayer? You think the Slayer is prettier and stronger and
funnier than you?" Spike asked
incredulously. "Are you serious?" Seeing the look on Willow's
face he sobered. "Oh, I guess so. Well,
pet, you're completely off base with that one. Maybe Angelus
likes ditzy blondes but I don't. Even
Drusilla was intelligent. She just had a few sanity problems."
"Buffy's not ditzy," Willow said in defense of her friend. "She
just has more important things to worry
about than school and stuff."
Spike laughed. "That's not what I'm talking about. I couldn't
care less about school. I'm talking about
the way she acts in normal life. She's not exactly the brightest
person in the world. Besides, you have
everything over her. You're much smarter, funnier, kinder, and,
yes, prettier. You're gorgeous," he
said before she could object.
"Spike's right," Angel agreed. "Why do you always compare yourself
to Buffy, anyway? Somehow,
you've gotten the idea that Buffy's more worthy than you are.
I don't understand that. You're the best
friend I've ever had. You saved my soul when everyone else had
given up. And then you risked your
life--your life!--to pull me back out of hell. You could have
died! You know that don't you?" he asked,
hoping to convince her. When she nodded sadly he continued, "Good.
But you didn't let that scare you
away. You brought me back and I can never repay you for that.
There's nothing I can do that could
possibly compare to that kind of gift. So, don't ever sell yourself
short."
"But..." Willow protested. "Buffy's..."
"Buffy's what?" Angel prompted.
"The guys always like her so much more," she admitted finally in a wail.
"Which guys are those?" Angel asked. "Xander?" When Willow
nodded, he laughed. "Last time I
checked Xander informed you tonight that he loves you."
"But he used to like her," Willow responded. "And all the other guys..."
"Like Oz? Spike? Me, for that matter?" Angel asked quietly.
"Yes, I do love her. But am I with her
right now? No. I'm here with you. So, as far as I
can see, most of the guys you know love you, not
Buffy."
"You don't love me," Willow answered, something close to pain in her
voice. "And Spike doesn't love
me. Spike loves Drusilla."
"Yeah," Angel replied, grinning. "I always kill the people I love most, don't you?"
"Well," she said defensively, reluctant to allow Angel to insult Spike. "Maybe he had a good reason."
"I did have a good reason, pet," Spike agreed. "She was going
to hurt you. I could never let that
happen," he said softly. "Okay, there is no easy way to admit
this, so I'm just going to say it. Then I'm
going to leave. You can break things and scream and everything
after I'm gone, okay? Angelus will be
here to take care of you. I love you. I'm sorry.
I don't expect you to love me back. I know that's not
possible. No, don't say anything," he said quickly when he saw
Willow open her mouth to speak. "I just
wanted you to know. I'll leave now," he concluded and walked
out of the living room toward the front
door.
Hearing the door slam shut, Willow started, a tear slipping out of her
eye and down her cheek. "But,
but," she objected. "Why did he leave?" she asked miserably,
turning to Angel.
Angel's heart broke when he saw the look on her face. In that
instant he knew he had lost her before
he even had a chance. But he knew that, as her friend, he had
to help her. He engulfed her in his
arms and she began sobbing against his shoulder. He stroked her
hair softly, mentally letting her go.
When she finally finished crying, she pulled away and looked up into
his face.
"Sorry about that," she said softly.
Angel smiled gently at her. "That's all right. Do you love him?" he asked simply.
Willow thought for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I think so."
"Do you want me to go get him?" Angel asked, silently telling his protesting heart to be quiet.
"No," Willow said thoughtfully. "I'll do it. I'm sorry,"
she continued, sensing for the first time that she was
hurting him. "I did think I loved you, but I think I was confusing
friendship with romantic love. They're
not the same thing. Besides," she smiled awkwardly. "You
and Buffy can be happy together, right?"
Angel gathered his courage around him. "Yeah," he said, returning
her smile. "We'll be happy
together. Now, go catch Spike before he gets too far away.
You never know. He might leave town."
"Okay," Willow agreed, brushing the last tears from her face.
"Where do you think he'd go first?" she
asked hopefully.
"Well, I'd try out the door if I were you," Angel chuckled. "Be
careful, though," he said, following her to
the door.
"I will," Willow agreed and opened the door. What she saw outside
it made her laugh with happiness.
"Good call, Angel," she said over her shoulder.
She stepped out onto the porch and smiled at Spike who was sitting on
the top step. He had turned
around when she opened the door and she could see the grin that spread
across his face. "Hey," she
said softly, sitting down next to him.
"Hello," he answered, softly touching her cheek where the tear stains
clearly showed. "You've been
crying," he stated.
"Yeah," Willow nodded, revelling in the way his hand felt against her cheek.
"Why have you been crying?" Spike asked.
"You left," Willow said simply, as if that explained everything.
When he just stared at her she continued,
"You wouldn't let me talk and then you just left. I was trying
to tell you that I love you too, you big idiot,"
she said, swatting his arm.
Spike's arm dropped to his side and he stared at her for a moment in
shock. "What did you just say?"
he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
"I said I love you," Willow smiled.
A slow smile spread across Spike's face. "That's what I thought.
Are you sure?" he asked, questioning
her judgment.
"Well, I think so," Willow admitted. "Maybe not completely.
But I'm pretty sure I'd like to find out," she
added mischievously.
"Really?" Spike asked, wanting to be sure. "Does it bother you
that I kill people? Because that's not
something I'm going to just stop," he told her seriously. "Your
friends aren't likely to approve of me, you
know. Are you really sure about this?"
Willow pondered what he said for a moment, staring off into space.
Then she smiled slyly and lunged
at Spike, latching her lips to his. She kissed him passionately
until she herself ran out of breath. Then
she pulled away, sucking in air. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure," she
told him. "God, I wish I could do that!" she
exclaimed after she got her breath back, awed by Spike's ability to
go without breathing.
"No you don't luv," he chuckled. "The stuff that goes along with
it wouldn't be too appealing to you." He
tucked a stray strand of hair behind Willow's ear and smiled at her.
"Well, if you're really sure," he
started and then kissed her softly on the forehead. Then he rose,
lifting her to her feet. "Let's go then,"
he urged, dragging her behind him.
"Wait. Spike!" Willow protested, laughing. "Where are we going?"
"Everywhere, luv," Spike laughed. "Everywhere."
Fan Fiction Chamber