Buffy slipped quietly out of the house. It was dark out and she wore a hooded sweatshirt, the hood pulled up over her head, as she glided down the sidewalk. Her mother was still at home, getting ready for some date with a guy she’d met at the gallery. She had left just before Joyce started panicking about what she was going to wear.

Giles had left some time ago, realising he wasn’t going to get anything sociable out of Buffy. He’d stuck around for a while to ask her some general slaying questions, and had inquired politely about the other side of her life. There was very little to report on that front and Giles had left, feeling uncomfortable around the Buffy he felt he didn’t know.

Buffy hadn’t told him about Spike. She knew this was exactly the sort of thing she was supposed to tell her Watcher, but she had just felt like it was something she had to deal with alone. If she told Giles he’d go into a big panic, gather the gang, and they’d all go way overboard on the mob-mentality. All of them hated Spike, which she understood. However, they’d only get in the way and maybe get themselves killed in the process.

She could take Spike. She knew that. It was just a matter of when he would show his face again. It wouldn’t be long; he was impatient about these sorts of things. A perfect example of that had been the first time they had ever fought. He’d been unable to wait for the Night of St. Vigeous and had instead crashed her Parent Teacher Evening, therefore summing up what kind of relationship the two of them would forever have – a string of impulsive, ill-timed, spontaneous smack downs. At least until one of them finally killed the other one.

She dug her hands deep down into her pockets, keeping her gaze locked onto her surroundings. Buffy surveyed for danger instinctively, never putting much effort into it. She had enough self-confidence in these matters to know that if there was something lurking in the shadows wanting her blood then she would sense it. So far there had been nothing. She had yet to spot even a group of the usual rowdy teenagers on their way to the Bronze. It was a bad sign.

Usually the streets only cleared like this if there was something big about to go down. It was like people had a built in sensor for these things that told them to just stay inside. Buffy stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked around.

The air was charged. Something was going on. She just didn’t know what yet. She started walking again, figuring that whoever, or whatever it was would find her eventually. Buffy knew there was chance it was Spike. He always liked to strike when the iron was still hot. If it was him then she was ready. As long as she didn’t think too much about the look on his face as she had escaped the night before. The way his face had held sadness and confusion. Sympathy from the devil, Buffy thought, with a snort.

Generally speaking, Buffy thought she understood vampires quite well. It was necessary for her to be able to predict their patterns and know the way their minds worked. Spike had always been a little off for her, though. He never quite fit into the expected category. He had the bloodlust down, the viciousness, but then at times he would seem almost hesitant about it – like last night. And most of the time he didn’t care about people’s feelings, he was soulless so it was expected, but then he had loved Drusilla intensely. Buffy had seen it in his eyes, in the way he used to protect her when she was frail, he loved Drusilla as much as Buffy had loved Angel.

She didn’t like admitting that she and Spike had anything in common, but there was that.

He was evil, of that she was absolutely certain. But then he had to go and confuse things there by helping her save the world. It had been motivated by selfish reasons but he had still come to her and had helped her against Angelus and kept Giles alive when he was in their captivity. Buffy wondered if she would have still won if it wasn’t for Spike’s help. There was no point in rehashing over all that again. The point of it all was that Spike often defied expectations and that’s what made him such an unpredictable, and ultimately, deadly opponent. Buffy knew as well that Spike’s volatile nature may have been what helped him to win against two Slayers. It didn’t worry her though. Not much, anyway.

It started to rain. Buffy looked up, frowning. Droplets of water fell onto her cheeks and nose, as she looked up at the stars. It hardly ever rained in Sunnydale, hence the name. Buffy decided this was bad omen number two. She shook her head and carried on. The Slayer debated on giving the nearest cemetery a quick sweep for bad guys. It was in this moment of indecision that a scream sliced through the air. Reacting immediately, Buffy ran towards the direction it had come from. Another scream, echoing off the alley walls.

She sprinted along the street looking for the source of it. There was a whimper, closer now. Buffy inched along carefully towards the mouth of the nearest alley and withdrawing the stake from her waistband she stepped into clear view. Two vampires, one male, one female, were feasting on a girl who was maybe Buffy’s age. They held her from both sides, looking almost like an embrace. The girl's eyes were rolled back exposing just the whites.

"Hey!" Buffy yelled.

The vampires turned towards her, growling and baring their bloodied fangs. Buffy waved the stake at them. They dropped the girl and she fell to the ground with a thud, already dead. The Slayer looked at her for a moment before turning her eyes back to the vampires. They grinned at her simultaneously and then ran.

Buffy frowned. Vampires were never usually smart enough to run from her. They always seemed to want to try their luck. Obviously, these two were not counting on being easy slays. With a sigh, she followed after them through the winding alleys of Sunnydale.

She could hear them howling with laughter, sounding eerily like hyenas. Buffy rounded the last corner and ground to a stop. The two vampires stood only a short distance away, side by side. She looked around and saw that they were behind the Bronze. Music was pumping from inside the club, a haunting melody from some live band who had been stupid enough to agree to play a vampire town. Buffy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. This was a trap. How could she be so stupid to fall into a trap again? Buffy had no answer for herself. She simply reached up and pulled the hood from her head, the cold rain sluiced across her face and down her neck making her shiver.

"Let me guess," Buffy said calmly "Spike sent you?"

They didn’t answer, just smiled as several more of their buddies stepped out from the shadows. There were three of them behind her, plus the two in front. Five vampires against one Slayer. Buffy wasn’t a math genius but she knew the odds were stacked against her. Buffy readied the stake in her hand. She worked the cricks out of her neck and shoulders, always aware of where the vampires behind her were, eyes fixed on the ones in front of her. For a long moment nothing happened. Then they all ran at her together, roaring.

Buffy leapt up, grabbing hold of the fire escape ladder attached to the alley wall. She swung herself up and landed on the steps. The vampires careened into one another, a couple of them getting knocked to the ground.

The ones who still stood looked up at her, confused and pissed off. She gave them a little wave.

"A crossbow would be handy right now," Buffy mused to herself "Or, you know, a machine gun"

With wooden bullets, of course...she added silently. The vampires were all growling at her and hissing. Buffy took a moment to consider the best course of action. Fight or flee. She leapt down upon two of them, knocking them to the floor. Buffy plunged the stake into them each in turn without even breaking a sweat. She flipped herself up into a standing position again to find herself surrounded by the three remaining vampires. Buffy motioned for them to come and get her but instead they just circled, fangs bared at her. She shrugged and reached forward, staking one as easy as pie, when he wasn’t ready for it. The look on the vampire’s face was priceless.

The two vamps she had started off with were the two who were left. They grabbed at her, landed a couple of decent kicks to her stomach and head. Buffy stumbled back into the wall, one lashed out to hit her again but she ducked and his hand smashed into the brick wall instead. He let out a howl of pain and she kicked him in the balls. As he fell to the side gasping, his female companion aimed a kick at Buffy’s head. The Slayer grabbed her leg and pushed her hard enough that she fell to the ground. Buffy walked over to her and kicked her hard in the side. She shrugged and kicked her again and again. It was good for the frustration.

However, she didn’t count on the vampire behind her recovering so quickly from the swift kick to his family jewels. He grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and leaving her wholly immobile. The female vampire got up, stood before Buffy and punched her hard in the stomach. Buffy bent forward, gagging. That made the vampire grin. She punched her again and again, and Buffy thought she might throw up yet again but she hadn’t eaten anything so it was unlikely. As the female made the move to punch her again, Buffy leapt up and planted a foot on her chest, pushing off and using the momentum to launch herself over the vampire who had been holding her and landing behind him gracefully. She staked him quickly in the back. As the dust cleared Buffy faced off against the last remaining vampire.

"Tell Spike, if he wants me he has to come get me himself" Buffy spat at her.

"If you insist, pet"

Buffy’s head snapped around in the direction the voice had come from. Spike stood in the alleyway, just below the Bronze sign. His arms were folded and he had smug grin on his face. The Slayer was so busy looking at him that the female vampire she had been fighting before ran up to her and knocked her to the ground. Buffy let out a sound as she held her arm against the vamp’s neck, trying to keep the fangs away from her throat. Instead the vampire settled for sinking her teeth deep into Buffy’s arm. Buffy screamed, and kneed her in the side, shoving her off, as the vampire took a good chunk of Buffy’s arm with her.

The Slayer grabbed up her stake and finished the bitch off. She stood shakily, clutching her arm, trying in vain to stem the bloodflow. Buffy faced Spike as she ripped a long strip of material from her sweater and wound it around the wound, tying it tightly. It hurt like hell.

Spike sniffed the air, "I love the smell of Slayer blood in the evening."

"Let’s you and me finish this," she said, voice strong.

"Um…Okay," Spike took a step towards her.

She tensed.

"Second thought – not!" He grinned, then held his fingers up to his mouth and whistled.

Buffy groaned as five more vampire lackeys emerged from various shadowy nooks. She really had to learn not to get herself into these traps. Buffy slammed the heel of her hand into the nose of one vampire and kicked her leg back into the kneecap of another one behind her at the same time. The other three leapt on her, actually slamming into her bodily. They had been heavy men when alive, and now they were heavy vampires. She was thrown to the floor and they all piled on top of her as if they were playing a game of rugby, that sport Giles was so fond of watching.

Buffy was punched and kicked, scratched and scraped. She bucked against them wondering where the hell her stake had gone. She managed to get enough leverage to kick one vampire off of her. Fangs sunk into her knee and she screamed loudly.

Slamming an elbow into the face of the vampire directly above her, Buffy then drew up all her strength and pushed against them all. Amazingly, they all went flying off of her in a multitude of directions. Buffy gasped the air, glad to be free. She dragged herself up into a standing position, her knee seeping blood. The vampires were fast recovering.

She saw her stake and dived for it as a vampire jumped at her. Landing on the ground and grabbing the stake she held it up in front of her as vampire soared towards her. He couldn’t stop his own momentum and ended up impaled on the stake. She scrambled up before the dust had even settled. A vampire tried to creep up behind her but she shoved the stake backwards and staked her effortlessly. The three remaining vampires all stood looking at her. Buffy looked back. They ran.

Spike’s eyebrow rose, "You just can’t get the help these days."

Buffy leant one hand against the wall, taking a few deep breaths, "So, now you have to get your minions to soften me up? How the mighty have fallen. Not that you were ever very mighty, Spike."

He smiled, walking slowly towards her "Yeah, well, at least I’m still pretty."

Buffy looked at him, sourly. Spike stood before her, one hand clutching his belt, slouching cool guy pose perfected. The rain was still beating down on them hard but he seemed unfazed. His eyes were focused solely on hers. Buffy had always thought he had the most entrancing eyes, and she wondered briefly if maybe he had some kind of thrall.

"That’s a matter of opinion," she replied, standing up straight and readying herself for a fight.

He moved closer. "So, come on – honesty time. How long has it been for you?"

She frowned "What?"

"Since your last fuck," Spike smirked, looking her up and down "I hear that some blokes are into that sort of thing." Buffy’s fists clenched. "You know, they like their girls disfigured and all that."

She punched him in the face hard. He stumbled backwards into a dumpster, laughing. He stood up straight again, brushed the shoulders of his duster off, then he came at her. She blocked his first punch but his second landed. His fist slammed against her right cheek hard and she in turn careened into the wall. Dots swam in her vision. Spike didn’t even hesitate. He kicked her hard on her already injured knee and she screamed in pain, clutching onto the wall for support. His hands grabbed at her sweater and he tossed her across the alleyway into the wall on the opposite side. Buffy crumpled to the floor.

"I mean each to their own right?" Spike walked over to her, "Everyone’s got their kinks. I might not understand what any man could see in an ugly little bitch like you but I respect that it takes all kinds."

She looked up at him and felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes. Buffy tried to sit up, and place her emotionless mask back on but it was too late, he had already seen it.

"What’s the matter, love?" He frowned, grabbing her injured arm and yanking her to her feet, making her scream again, "What’s with the waterworks? I thought you were tough. I guess those revolting little scars didn’t just take away your beauty, eh? They made you weak too." Spike backhanded her across the face and she fell back to the floor on her knees, head bowed. "Get up," he said firmly. She didn’t move. "I said get up!"

Buffy rolled her eyes up to look at him "Just do it" she whispered.

Spike tilted his head "Do what?"

The Slayer stood slowly, readying herself. She stood before him, stands of her hair blowing in her eyes and sticking to her face. Rain slid down her forehead and cheeks mingling with the tears, as she turned her head and bared her neck to him.

Spike’s eyes fixed upon her throat, he swallowed hard. Buffy felt his hand grip her wrist as he pulled her into him. Their chests were flush against one another; his body was hard and cold, the rain soaking their clothes. He leaned his face into the junction of her neck; his lips were wet and soft as they pressed against her throat. He kissed a line down her neck gently, tracing the vein that ran beneath the surface of her hot skin.

Buffy closed her eyes. She knew he was about to kill her but still some irrational part of her could only think about how strange this all felt. To be touched again. The fact that it was Spike who was touching her should have bothered her and the fact that he was about to end her life should have bothered her even more but it just didn’t. Suddenly all she could think about was the feeling of his skin against hers. The way a strange little tingle started at the base of her spine and ran up the length of it. It didn’t make any sense. And she didn’t care.

Spike let out a growl and his lips were gone suddenly. Buffy frowned, her eyes opening. Spike still stood in front of her, inches away, but his face was upturned to the sky, his eyes were closed and his jaw was clenched. "I...can’t" He uttered to himself, disbelieving. Spike let out a roar and threw his arms out to the side of him, held them up to the sky "I suppose you think this is funny!" He yelled to the stars.

Buffy watched this display without comment or reaction. Spike looked down again and locked eyes with her, looking surprised as if only just remembering she was there. "Well..." He started, struggling to find the right words "...It’s just no fun if you don’t –"

Buffy grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him.