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Deal
 
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A/N: Notepad is still a fiend, but I bring you more. Thanks for the reviews, keep 'em coming


Spike was right where Jeremiah said he would be. Buffy contemplated whether it was a possibility he was working for Spike, then decided against it. The platinum vampire tended to prefer the newly risen vampires for lackeys. 'Recently dead, easily led' seemed to be his motto.

It wasn't really all that important, anyway. She climbed up the remaining rungs of the side ladder and set foot on the roof of the cinema. Spike sat with his back to her on the ledge, legs dangling over the edge of the building. The green neon of the Sun Cinema sign next to him lit him up like a horror movie monster. He was humming a tune she didn't recognise as he took a drag of his cigarette. He seemed oblivious of her presence but, of course, he wasn't.

"Here to off me?"

Buffy took a step forward "I told you to leave town"

"Yeah, well, I'm not in the habit of taking orders from anyone," He replied still giving her nothing but a view of his back "especially not you, Slayer"

She watched him take another easy hit from the cigarette, absently flicking the ash down onto the ground below. Buffy had a very vivid image of herself pushing him off the roof. It wouldn't kill him but it might be fun. As if reading her mind, Spike glanced over his shoulder at her. He looked her over appreciatively and so openly that it made her squirm.

Patting a space on the ledge next to him, he called "Pull up a seat, love"

She smirked "Right. How about I just give you my neck on a platter, too?"

"That sounds like a splendid idea" He grinned. "But in all honestly, I'm not goin' to push you off a roof"

"And I'm supposed to believe that, why?"

"There's no fun in shoving you off here, is there?"

Buffy folded her arms and tilted her head "I'm sure you'd find the fun in it. Why should I trust you?"

"'Cos if I was gonna kill you I'd have done it while I was fucking your brains out." Spike raised on eyebrow, a grin lighting up his features.

With the green light colouring his pale skin in such a way it painted a somewhat frightening picture. He looked inhuman, which he was, but now he looked garish and sickly. Kind of reminded her of what she saw when she looked in the mirror. Deciding there was a measure of truth in what he had said, Buffy warily moved over to the ledge, sitting down tentatively and swinging her legs over. She made sure there was a decent amount of space between them.

Spike looked over at her smugly "You know, when you ran away from me I cried for hours"

"Shut up, Spike."

"A man could end up feeling used"

She scowled at him "Good thing you're not a man, then"

He shrugged with one shoulder "Got all the right parts. You can attest to that"

Buffy shook her head and looked up at the sky. It was late enough for the sky to look black. She could just about see the stars struggling to shine through the darkness. There was a metaphor or something there but Buffy hadn't exactly been a scholar so she just kept it simple; it was pretty....in an overrated way. In different circumstances, with a different man, it might have been romantic. She glanced over at Spike to see he was staring at his boots still humming. When he felt her gaze on him he looked up and they stared at each other.

"In all seriousness, love..." He started.

"The evil vampire now wants to be serious? Somebody call the press!" She rolled her eyes.

"Will you shut up for ten bloody seconds?" Spike groused and she made a 'get on with it' motion "You know I'm not in love with you or anything, right?"

Buffy laughed, looking back up the sky "Trust me, Spike, the possibility had never crossed my mind"

"Good. So, you'll know what I'm about to say isn't because I actually care or anything...but just out of curiosity. Why aren't your mates around you anymore?"

She turned to look at him again, surprised. That had really been the last thing she expected him to ask. She wasn't altogether shocked he had noticed the absence of her friends but she did wonder why he wanted to know the reason. She had figured him for pretty much a two-track mind - kill and fuck. Why he wanted to know anything about her life now, she didn't know.

Buffy stared down at the ground and swallowed "I'm not much fun to be around these days"

"So, they just ditched you?"

For someone who didn't care he sure sounded irate. Buffy really didn't understand his interest in the matter or his indignation but she doubted she'd ever understand Spike.

"No." She shook her head "I pushed away. After...after the accident. It was me who didn't want to see them and they tried. They really did...but people can only take so much. And I know if I went back to them today they'd let me but..."

"You don't much fancy being in that crowd now? Don't blame you. They always were a bunch of tossers"

"You know nothing about them" Buffy said icily.

Spike shrugged again, taking a drag from his cigarette "I know enough. Mustn't be too fond of them if you won't see them"

"It's not that. I just don't feel like being around anyone"

"Now, that's a load of bullshit" Spike pointed at her "humans, like vampires, are generally pack animals. They need contact with others no matter how much they're hurting. Often more so because of that."

She arched an eyebrow "And you became a Psych major, when?"

"You live as long as me...you pick up a few things. 'Sides I met Jung a couple of times. He had some weird stuff going on in his mind. Not half as dirty as Freud mind you..."

"You've lost me, nerd-boy" Buffy replied lightly.

Spike smiled then. She found herself almost returning it before she caught herself. Being a Slayer she should've known better than to let her guard down around him. Her moral compass had gotten pretty screwed recently and Jeremiah's apparent "grayish hue" had unbalanced her even further. Whether Spike had the capacity for good remained to be seen but she severely doubted it. He'd done nothing to prove himself. Except maybe help her save the world once...and not kill her a couple of times...

Buffy dropped her head into her hands. Nothing made sense. She wished he would just attack her and make it easy. That way she could dust him without a second thought.

"Cheer up, Summers." Spike patted her shoulder "It's a beautiful night, you've got a handsome companion and you're still young enough to be considered veal in my book"

She straightened her shoulders and lifted her head "Why won't you just leave?"

"I like it here. A decent club, a nice comfy Hellmouth, Slayer ass on tap...no where better"

"You're an asshole"

Spike brightened up, shifting closer "Speaking of, where's Angelus these days?"

Buffy's spine went rigid at the mention of his name. She stood up on the ledge, and after only a brief moment looking down at the ground below, she set foot back on the roof and turned to leave. Spike called out to her asking, with a gleeful giggle, what her problem was.

She stopped with her back to him, her fists clenching "Where's Dru, Spike? I thought you were going to make her love you again. Yet, here you are, alone"

"Yeah, well," Spike mumbled chucking his cigarette off the edge of the roof "Didn't work out, did it?"

Buffy turned to look at him, smugly "I'm guessing she found someone better, someone who could satisfy all her freaky vampire tendencies. Probably some nasty old demon. Taller than you, stronger, bigger in so many ways..."

"Enough!" He growled on the verge of vamping out.

She smiled slowly, pressing the tip of her finger against the point of the stake "What's the matter, Spike? You don't want to talk about your ex?"

He looked at her then, a strange mixture of surprise and respect on his face. He took a step towards her on the roof but didn't come any closer.

Folding his arms, an easy smile played at his lips "You made your point, Slayer. No Dru, no Angel. Works fine enough for me, anyway. The less time spent dwelling on that piss-pot the better. We'll keep things strictly in the present. Just you and me now, pet"

"There is no you and me"

"Could've fooled me"

Buffy sighed, tossing her hair over her shoulder "Spike, you've gotten careless. Bodies have been turning up everywhere. I've noticed. Giles has noticed, they all have...and they will hunt you down and kill you"

The vampire chuckled "They can try, you mean"

"I'll kill you"

"You can't"

"I can." She held up the stake "I will"

"So why haven't you, then?"

Buffy eyed him a long while "I want you to prove something to me. If you're not going to leave this town, then you have to stop killing people"

"You are hysterical you know that, love?" Spike grinned.

"I'm serious. Either stop, or be stopped"

He scratched his chin "Fuck me again and I'll think about it"

Buffy threw her hands up in disgust and started to walk away from him back towards the ladder she had used to get up there in the first place. The vampire chuckled and jogged back to her, grabbing her arm. She shook him off, placed both hands onto his chest and shoved him back hard. He gracelessly fell onto his ass and Buffy looked down at him with a hard expression on his face.

"You bloody bitch!" Spike snarled, morphing into vamp face.

"I'm sick of this! I'm sick of you playing the big bad vampire because if that's all you are, Spike...well, if that's all you are then fine. I'll stake you. I'll get on with existing." Buffy's voice began to rise as her anger flared "You think you can keep treating me this way? Taunting and laughing and trying to hurt me - then think again. I'm through with being your little project."

He stood slowly, amber eyes narrowed "I don't know what you mean, Slayer"

"You think this is fun. Being a shithead to me, not bothering to tell me that I'm carrying your stench on me for every demon in this goddamn town to recognise..."

"Ah, now, you see -"

"I don't want to hear it, Spike. Yes, I'm different than I was before. I guess I've been more vulnerable. But if you think I'm just going to sit back and let you kill then you're even more of an idiot then I thought" She stared him unwavingly in the eyes.

Spike looked back at her and he smiled. It wasn't a malicious smile or even one of his usual arrogant, flirting smiles. It was just a smile. A genuine one. He nodded slowly and let his arms hang loose down at his sides.

"Now, that's more like it." He beamed "Not taking no shit from anyone, being a snotty bitch...that's my Slayer"

She didn't know exactly what he meant by that. She had never been his in any way and if he thought that their...what they had done constituted him having posession over her, then he was wrong. Buffy would never belong to anyone ever again. It just caused heartache and pain that she didn't have the strength for anymore. Up until recently she had thought she'd never even know the feel of someone else's body against hers again. Being naked in anyone's presence had disgusted her. In a way, it still did, but Spike...he hadn't made her feel undesirable. He'd tried to earlier to hurt her but when it came down to it he still wanted her. When they had had sex he had looked at her with need in his eyes. She had seen it then if not truly believed it.

Buffy held her stake out "So, what's it going to be?"

"Well, naturally I don't want you to stake me but I'm a vampire. I kill to feed. It's in my bloody nature -"

"No. It isn't. You don't have to kill to eat. There's butcher shops that sell blood"

Spike snorted "Oh yeah, - congealed, cold, pig's blood. Mmm baby. I don't think so"

"Then don't kill. You don't have to kill"

He cupped his chin in his hand as if in deep thought "Well, now that you mention it...I did get wind of a little place in town that's recruiting"

"What?" She frowned.

"Place where humans go to get bitten and pay for it too" Spike grinned "I could do with some cash"

"They pay you to bite them?"

"Yeah, sweet deal. I could charge more with my rep"

Buffy pulled a face "Sounds like a whore house"

"Yeah" He sighed wistfully.

The Slayer stared a him a long moment "Fine. Do that. As long as you're not leaving bodies, I don't care how you feed"

Spike took a couple of steps towards her "Do I get a kiss out of it?"

"How about - no way in hell?"

"I like a girl who plays hard to get" He smirked "If I stick to my end of the bargain, I expect a reward"

"Not dying isn't reward enough?"

"Not nearly"

Buffy tilted her head and scrutinised him for several moments as he had done to her, earlier. He didn't bristle at the attention though. He revelled in it. She figured he might even pose for her if she carried on looking.

She nodded "Okay, I'll kiss you"

"Knew you couldn't resist -" He started forward.

Buffy put her hand against his chest to stop him "I'll kiss you when you earn it, Spike"

She looked at him a moment longer before turning away and making a graceful retreat down the ladder. Buffy decided she'd done her part. Whether Spike showed any shades of gray was up to him.
 
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