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katyastarlingTitle: Baking
Author: Katya Starling
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters/Pairing: Spike/Buffy
Rating: PG-13/T
Challenge:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
nekid_spike: April Showers
Warnings: None
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners.
Buffy shrieked as Spike grabbed her hand and pulled her, without warning, out into the pouring rain. “SPIKE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”
“Dancing with you,” he snarled, placing a hand on the small of her back and yanking her hard against him. Lightning flashed above their heads while thunder provided a beat. He swung her in tune to it, and instead of shrieking or bitching him out further, she started to laugh. He dipped her in the rain. She leaned her head back any further, catching fresh droplets of the Spring rain on her smiling lips and reaching tongue.
He grinned as he gazed down at her. “I thought you said you couldn’t feel?” he questioned, pulling her back to her feet and, in so doing, back up against him.
Her arms wrapped around him as she held close to him. “I always feel,” she admitted, her emotional voice just above a whisper, “when we’re together.”
“I’m not the only thing that makes you feel. I can’t be -- “
She blinked up at him from underneath her thoroughly doused bangs. “Why not?” she demanded.
“Because . . . “ He shrugged. “I can’t be. I could never be that good,” he admitted softly after another minute had passed, “never mean that much to anyone, least of all you.”
“You do.” This time, she did whisper.
Suddenly, somewhere in Sunnydale, a girl screamed. Buffy started to turn and run after the terrified sound, but Spike caught her and held her firmly. “Let me go!” she exclaimed, swatting his shoulders.
“You can’t just go running off without a plan, Slayer.”
“The Hell I can’t!”
“Do you even know who that was?”
“What the Hell does it matter?!”
“Vampires have your sister, pet. You have to have a plan if you’re actually gonna get her back.”
Buffy’s heart immediately started pounding harder, faster, and louder than the thunder at the sound of his words. “What?!” she cried, going cold and limp inside his arms. “That -- That wasn’t Dawn! That can’t be Dawn!”
“It wasn’t,” he admitted, lowering his blonde head humbly and shamefully.
Buffy hit him. He skidded back some on the wet asphalt but stayed standing. He looked slowly up at her. “Not a nice feeling, was it?” he asked. Then he smiled a devious grin that would have sent others scampering for fear of having every drop of their blood sucked from their struggling bodies. “But it was,” he pointed out, “a feeling.”
Buffy hit him again, all the while screaming things she didn’t even hear herself. She punched him twice more in the chest, winded him with a roundhouse kick straight in the gut, and finally uppercut his jaw with both fists. Spike wiped some blood from his chin and still had the audacity to smile down at her. “Like I said,” he taunted knowingly, “not a nice feeling, but it was still a feeling.”
“YOU -- YOU BITCH!”
“We both are, but -- “
“YOU MONSTER!”
“Yes.” He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. He was clearly no longer proud or jesting. “You know what I am. We both do. I’ve never once tried to hide it from you. That’s why you deserve better, and you deserve to realize that these people mean something to you before you lose them. I won’t have you losing everyone,” he added gruffly, “like I did.”
“YOU -- YOU -- “ She was trembling with rage, but it was quickly turning into more fear than anger. “You -- “ She gasped, tears mingling with the rain drops on her cheeks. He had a point. She hated to admit it, but he had a point. She might feel dead inside, but she still cared about her family and friends, not just Dawnie, but Willow, Xander, Giles --
And he was right. If she didn’t do something soon, she was going to lose them. She was still furious at them for pulling her out of Heaven, but what was Heaven really without those you loved? What did it matter if she was in Heaven, Hell, or back on Earth as long as she was with the people she loved?
“You haven’t been thinking,” he murmured, “not really.” She knew he was right. She hadn’t wanted to think. She hadn’t wanted to see pass the pain and heartache. She most certainly had not wanted to see their point, or be able to forgive them for what they had done. But she still loved them. She still cared about them. Rather she could forgive them or not, she still, and would always, love them.
“Fine,” she spat out the word as though she was still angry, and a part of her was. She had a feeling a part of her would always be furiously angry at him and at Willow, at Giles, at Xander and Dawn even for their parts in her forced resurrection. But she was alive now. She was back with those she loved. She didn’t want to squander whatever time she had left.
Another victim screamed; this time, Buffy could clearly hear it wasn’t dawn. It wasn’t Dawn, but she still had to go. She had to save what life she could, and when she was done with that for the time being, she had to see if she could still save her life. Saving her own life went far beyond having life thrust back into her once lifeless shell of a body. If she was going to live again, truly live, she had to somehow make up with those she loved. She had to somehow stop shutting them out and away, and even if she couldn’t forgive them, she had to make damn certain they knew she still loved them.
She sighed, her fists dropping momentarily, but in the next second, she reached out, grabbed Spike, and yanked him to her. Holding his handsome face in her hands, she whispered, “You’re not a monster. You’re more human than most of the people I’ve known my entire life.”
He grinned down at her and started to chuckle. “Don’t -- “
She silenced whatever he was going to say by swiftly pressing her lips to his. Her tongue thrust into his mouth as she kissed him hot, wild, and thoroughly passionately. She let him know, better than she ever could have with words, with her actions how great he meant to her. The passion between them might not be the only thing she felt, but it had always been the most real. Long before she’d been able to admit that she still cared about her friends, before he’d tricked her tonight into admitting she still loved her kid sister who wasn’t even really her sister, he had made her want to live.
He’d made her almost glad that she was alive again, and at least for right now, she was. She kissed him long and deep. She would’ve liked nothing more than to stand right there with him in the april shower and make love to him, but there were, as always, lives to be saved, lives who needed the Slayer, lives who needed her.
She was intending to end their kiss when he ripped his mouth from hers and pushed her gently away. “Go,” he commanded. “But come back.”
She nodded, kissed him swiftly again, turned, and fled. Hopefully she’d be in time to save these most recent victims, but regardless, Spike had talked sense into her just in time. When she was done saving others, she had her own life yet to save. She’d do it, and it would be worth it no matter what bullcrap she had to swallow along the way. It would be worth it because of Dawnie, Wills, Xander, Giles, and yes, she admitted, if only to herself, most of all, for Spike.
Maybe a part of her did love him after all. Maybe. But right now, she didn’t have time to think about it. Right now, she had to do what she’d been born to do, what she’d been called into this world in the beginning to do and then called back into it years later. She had to save lives. When she was done, she’d looked at her own, and at his, and finally figure some things out. Maybe she was done baking after all.
The End
Author: Katya Starling
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters/Pairing: Spike/Buffy
Rating: PG-13/T
Challenge:
nekid_spike: April ShowersWarnings: None
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners.
Buffy shrieked as Spike grabbed her hand and pulled her, without warning, out into the pouring rain. “SPIKE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”
“Dancing with you,” he snarled, placing a hand on the small of her back and yanking her hard against him. Lightning flashed above their heads while thunder provided a beat. He swung her in tune to it, and instead of shrieking or bitching him out further, she started to laugh. He dipped her in the rain. She leaned her head back any further, catching fresh droplets of the Spring rain on her smiling lips and reaching tongue.
He grinned as he gazed down at her. “I thought you said you couldn’t feel?” he questioned, pulling her back to her feet and, in so doing, back up against him.
Her arms wrapped around him as she held close to him. “I always feel,” she admitted, her emotional voice just above a whisper, “when we’re together.”
“I’m not the only thing that makes you feel. I can’t be -- “
She blinked up at him from underneath her thoroughly doused bangs. “Why not?” she demanded.
“Because . . . “ He shrugged. “I can’t be. I could never be that good,” he admitted softly after another minute had passed, “never mean that much to anyone, least of all you.”
“You do.” This time, she did whisper.
Suddenly, somewhere in Sunnydale, a girl screamed. Buffy started to turn and run after the terrified sound, but Spike caught her and held her firmly. “Let me go!” she exclaimed, swatting his shoulders.
“You can’t just go running off without a plan, Slayer.”
“The Hell I can’t!”
“Do you even know who that was?”
“What the Hell does it matter?!”
“Vampires have your sister, pet. You have to have a plan if you’re actually gonna get her back.”
Buffy’s heart immediately started pounding harder, faster, and louder than the thunder at the sound of his words. “What?!” she cried, going cold and limp inside his arms. “That -- That wasn’t Dawn! That can’t be Dawn!”
“It wasn’t,” he admitted, lowering his blonde head humbly and shamefully.
Buffy hit him. He skidded back some on the wet asphalt but stayed standing. He looked slowly up at her. “Not a nice feeling, was it?” he asked. Then he smiled a devious grin that would have sent others scampering for fear of having every drop of their blood sucked from their struggling bodies. “But it was,” he pointed out, “a feeling.”
Buffy hit him again, all the while screaming things she didn’t even hear herself. She punched him twice more in the chest, winded him with a roundhouse kick straight in the gut, and finally uppercut his jaw with both fists. Spike wiped some blood from his chin and still had the audacity to smile down at her. “Like I said,” he taunted knowingly, “not a nice feeling, but it was still a feeling.”
“YOU -- YOU BITCH!”
“We both are, but -- “
“YOU MONSTER!”
“Yes.” He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. He was clearly no longer proud or jesting. “You know what I am. We both do. I’ve never once tried to hide it from you. That’s why you deserve better, and you deserve to realize that these people mean something to you before you lose them. I won’t have you losing everyone,” he added gruffly, “like I did.”
“YOU -- YOU -- “ She was trembling with rage, but it was quickly turning into more fear than anger. “You -- “ She gasped, tears mingling with the rain drops on her cheeks. He had a point. She hated to admit it, but he had a point. She might feel dead inside, but she still cared about her family and friends, not just Dawnie, but Willow, Xander, Giles --
And he was right. If she didn’t do something soon, she was going to lose them. She was still furious at them for pulling her out of Heaven, but what was Heaven really without those you loved? What did it matter if she was in Heaven, Hell, or back on Earth as long as she was with the people she loved?
“You haven’t been thinking,” he murmured, “not really.” She knew he was right. She hadn’t wanted to think. She hadn’t wanted to see pass the pain and heartache. She most certainly had not wanted to see their point, or be able to forgive them for what they had done. But she still loved them. She still cared about them. Rather she could forgive them or not, she still, and would always, love them.
“Fine,” she spat out the word as though she was still angry, and a part of her was. She had a feeling a part of her would always be furiously angry at him and at Willow, at Giles, at Xander and Dawn even for their parts in her forced resurrection. But she was alive now. She was back with those she loved. She didn’t want to squander whatever time she had left.
Another victim screamed; this time, Buffy could clearly hear it wasn’t dawn. It wasn’t Dawn, but she still had to go. She had to save what life she could, and when she was done with that for the time being, she had to see if she could still save her life. Saving her own life went far beyond having life thrust back into her once lifeless shell of a body. If she was going to live again, truly live, she had to somehow make up with those she loved. She had to somehow stop shutting them out and away, and even if she couldn’t forgive them, she had to make damn certain they knew she still loved them.
She sighed, her fists dropping momentarily, but in the next second, she reached out, grabbed Spike, and yanked him to her. Holding his handsome face in her hands, she whispered, “You’re not a monster. You’re more human than most of the people I’ve known my entire life.”
He grinned down at her and started to chuckle. “Don’t -- “
She silenced whatever he was going to say by swiftly pressing her lips to his. Her tongue thrust into his mouth as she kissed him hot, wild, and thoroughly passionately. She let him know, better than she ever could have with words, with her actions how great he meant to her. The passion between them might not be the only thing she felt, but it had always been the most real. Long before she’d been able to admit that she still cared about her friends, before he’d tricked her tonight into admitting she still loved her kid sister who wasn’t even really her sister, he had made her want to live.
He’d made her almost glad that she was alive again, and at least for right now, she was. She kissed him long and deep. She would’ve liked nothing more than to stand right there with him in the april shower and make love to him, but there were, as always, lives to be saved, lives who needed the Slayer, lives who needed her.
She was intending to end their kiss when he ripped his mouth from hers and pushed her gently away. “Go,” he commanded. “But come back.”
She nodded, kissed him swiftly again, turned, and fled. Hopefully she’d be in time to save these most recent victims, but regardless, Spike had talked sense into her just in time. When she was done saving others, she had her own life yet to save. She’d do it, and it would be worth it no matter what bullcrap she had to swallow along the way. It would be worth it because of Dawnie, Wills, Xander, Giles, and yes, she admitted, if only to herself, most of all, for Spike.
Maybe a part of her did love him after all. Maybe. But right now, she didn’t have time to think about it. Right now, she had to do what she’d been born to do, what she’d been called into this world in the beginning to do and then called back into it years later. She had to save lives. When she was done, she’d looked at her own, and at his, and finally figure some things out. Maybe she was done baking after all.
The End
