full 3/4 1/2   skin light dark       
 
 
58 Discoveries
 
<<     >>
 


Chapter 58 - Discoveries

In the morning, Spike was gone. But she had expected him to be, so it didn’t really bother her.

Buffy spent Sunday moping around, trying to not dread school starting.

Monday came, and class came. Funny how you could be out of school for a month, yet the moment you went back, it seemed like you had never left. It was a typical first day, Buffy thought—hearing overviews and getting syllabi. Two of her professors had assigned the first chapter’s reading for homework; the others had started lecturing. Only one had let them out early.

Buffy also discovered that Willow really liked school. At lunch, she was already planning for what her final Chemistry project would be, and was complaining at how basic her computer class was.

After class, they went to the Magic Box. Xander was already off work, and Willow started telling him about her day.

“I mean, it’s Programming, but it’s hardly programming. I can do stuff like that with one hand tied behind my back.”

“Sorry, Will, but I don’t think you’re going to find a class on advanced hacking. Sort of conspicuous.”

“Yeah, but I just wanted a challenge, you know? I can drop it till Friday though. Maybe I’ll test out and take something else. Oh! I heard there was this great sociology professor who talks about reality being a construct, and how everyone participates in giving meaning to their own encounters and existence.”

Xander looked at Buffy. “And this,” he said, “is why I skipped college.”

Suddenly Anya walked up to Giles, holding a statue and a talisman out. “Do you know what these do?” she demanded. “Together, you can create your own demon with these.”

“In that case, I’ve severely under priced them.”

“You’re also not selling the crystal balls for enough. You can’t be getting a good return on those.”

“Anya, would you like a job?”

“Really?”

“Yes, actually.” Giles took off his glasses. “Willow will be cutting back her hours because of classes, I need the assistance, and you’re quite knowledgeable about the merchandise.”

“Money,” she said, beaming. “Money of my very own.”

“And the work, Ahn,” Xander said. “Don’t forget the work.”

“Oh, work,” she said dismissively. “I’ve worked for a thousand years. How hard can retail be?”

-----

The next afternoon, Buffy and Spike were sparring, using the mats in the basement for the first time.

Buffy spun, rebounding from avoiding a kick. She quickly compensated and delivered her own kick. Jumping back, she grinned.

“What?” he asked.

“You always used to get me on the kicks. Now you don’t.”

“You’re good.”

“Getting better. I can also do back flips again.”

Buffy twisted around, evading him as he tried to grab her.

“Giles thinks I’m ‘astonishing,’” she said, circling him. “We still fence, but he won’t fight with me with anything else. The other day he had me blindfolded and throwing things at him. I accused him of running out of training ideas.”

Spike tried to kick her legs out from under her. Buffy jumped, punching at him, but missing.

They circled again, and then she said, “Though, I’ve got to start dinner before Mom gets home. We’ve been doing this a while.”

He stopped and shrugged. “All right.”

Buffy looked around. “You know, we should probably do weapons down here, too. It might look too suspicious in the backyard.”

“Nothin’ looks too suspicious in Sunnyhell.”

She frowned. “You said that before. ‘Old Sunnyhell.’”

“Been here before.”

“When?”

“Where do you think I dug up the gem? Right here on the Hellmouth.”

“Right. The gem.” She raised an eyebrow. “So what exactly happens if you get staked?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He smirked.

“Seriously.”

“It tickles.”

“No, really.”

Spike regarded her for a moment. “Nothin’ happens. I can walk in the sun, play with fire—a little stake’s not gonna do it, either.” He grinned. “Haven’t tried beheading myself, so that one’s still a wild card.”

“Eww…” Buffy made face. “But no one else really knows?”

“Dusted the vamps that I recruited to dig it up, killed the sorcerer who reset it for me.”

“Lovely.”

“It was a damn ring.” Spike shook his head, as if in disbelief. “Too bloody obvious.”

“I was referring to the elimination.”

“It’s called a survival tactic, love.”

“But I know.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Probably should kill you for that.”

“Not if I kill you first.” She smiled, but then became serious. “It’s that whole thing about trust, isn’t it? Like you said I trusted you. It means something that I know.”

“Yeah, pet. It does.”

“Good.” Then she gestured to the stairs. “Now get out of here. I’ve got to fix dinner.”

“I’m wounded.” Spike put his hand to his chest. “Don’t wanna be seen with me?”

Buffy shrugged. “On second thought, you could stay. We could all eat together. And of course my mom will have all these questions that she’ll just be dying to ask you now.” She ticked off her fingers as she continued. “Like how have you been, what sort of work are you doing here, what’s your family like—”

“I’m leaving.”

-----

Joyce actually called when Buffy was halfway through making chicken to say that she had been invited out to eat with one of the gallery’s dealers. Buffy assured her that it wasn’t a problem. After she hung up, she called Willow and invited her to come over early for dinner before patrol.

Buffy had taken the rolls out of the oven and was just tossing a salad when Willow arrived. They ate and then flipped through TV channels until after dark.

Buffy locked the door behind her, and she and Willow cut across yards as they headed for the nearby park.

“Do you know how you would look adorable?” Buffy suddenly asked, as they crossed the last street.

“No?”

She ran her fingers over the ends of Willow’s hair. “Get a couple inches cut off. Get it right about here, where it would just brush your shoulder. Sort of feathery.”

“I don’t know. I just got it cut like this after graduation. It was kinda traumatic; it was the first time I’d ever cut a bunch off.”

“But you’d be so cute. I’ll go with you to the salon.”

“You wanna cut yours?”

“Spi—I like it long. Ooh, but I could get layering and highlights. I haven’t gotten highlights in a while. We could make it a day—get makeovers. We already bought new clothes.”

Willow started to answer.

But suddenly Buffy wasn’t listening. The night was too quiet, she realized. Not even animal noises.

“BUFFY!!”

She heard the warning at the same time that she felt them. Nearly a dozen vampires, closing in from all sides.

She saw Spike running toward her.

“You have a stake?” Buffy asked Willow.

She nodded, holding it in front of her.

That was all they had time for before they were fighting. Buffy took on whichever vamp was nearest, kicking and ducking and spinning. But after what seemed like forever, she had only staked two. Even if one left himself open, another was there to block the blow away from his heart.

Spike was in the thick of it opposite her, in game face as he growled and pushed one away, simultaneously dusting another one.

Buffy drove her stake through the heart of a vampire that was advancing on Willow. Then she twisted and managed to shove away another one, a move that put her fighting back to back with Spike.

But she quickly moved in front of Willow again. For every vampire that was interested in fighting the Slayer, there seemed to be one just as interested in picking off an easy meal. And that’s what Willow was right now. She might dust the occasional vamp on patrol, but she didn’t know how to move in a fight like this.

Buffy threw a quick glance over her shoulder. They were down to five vampires.

Suddenly there was a strangled shout. She spun, only to see Willow go down, a vampire on top of her. Buffy kicked away her opponent and lunged, staking the vampire over Willow’s body.

Willow coughed at the dust and her hand flew to her neck. “I—he didn’t—it’s not bad bad.” Buffy could see the red oozing through her fingers.

“Spike!”

He turned, dusting a vampire in mid-spin.

“Get Willow out of here!” Buffy’s eyes never left the two vampires that were suddenly circling her, their eyes flicking between her and Willow, who was pulling herself up.

“What?” Spike’s face shifted as he paused to stare at her.

“She’s hurt!” Buffy yelled over her shoulder. “Get her out of here!”

“You ca—”

“Do it! That’s an order!”

For a frozen second, Spike glowered at her. Then he closed the distance between them in a blur of flapping leather and yanked Willow to her feet without stopping, pulling her away by the arm even as she struggled to regain her footing.

Buffy turned back to the vampires, staking the one that had been fighting Spike almost instantly and facing off against the remaining two.

Willow looked back at Buffy as Buffy’s guy practically dragged her away. And while she was grateful to be in one piece (more or less), she couldn’t help but remember what she’d seen.

Hadn’t she seen it?

There were a lot of vampires—maybe she had just sort of pasted a vampire face on his head in the confusion.

He stopped and turned to scowl at her.

Maybe not.

He looked normal now. Of course, they could; she knew that. But his look gave her the impression that the last thing he wanted to be doing was standing there with her.

They were a fair distance away, and he let go of her arm and paused to watch Buffy fight. Willow thought he looked half ready to leave her here and jump back into the fray.

Then Buffy dusted a vampire, and the surviving minion started to run away. She happened to turn and saw them still standing there. “My God, I can handle one vamp by myself,” she yelled. “Take her back to the house!” Then she took off down the street.

He stared after her and then made an exasperated noise, turning and walking in the other direction. After a moment, he stopped and spun around. “Well?” he demanded.

“Uh…”

“Bloody well keep up,” he barked. “Can’t stop somethin’ from eatin’ you if you’re way back there.”

Not having any other option except walking home alone and bleeding, she followed him the few blocks back to Buffy’s.

When they got to the house, the windows were still dark, and he paused on the front porch.

“You know where a spare key is or somethin’?”

Willow shook her head.

He sighed. “Brilliant plan, love,” he muttered. She knew he wasn’t talking to her.

He quickly picked the lock, and Willow wasn’t sure she felt better or not when he walked through the threshold after her.

“Um, are you staying?” She tried to sound casual as she leaned awkwardly against the banister.

“Got a few things to say to the Slayer.” He closed the front door.

There was a long pause, and neither spoke.

Willow decided that these were officially the most uncomfortable forty seconds of her entire life.

“Uh, you aren’t a vampire…right?”

He turned toward her. Oh, if looks could kill. “If you don’t go take care of that bloody cut, I’m gonna come over there and do it for you.” His tongue darted between his lips.

With an ‘eep,’ she spun and quickly skittered down the hall, going into the bathroom and locking the door. She tried not to think about the vampire in the other room.

Though he hadn’t tried to hurt her. But he was sort of scary. No, make that really scary. Then again, he’d actually helped her, and Buffy. But he was a vampire.

A vampire who had an invitation to Buffy’s home.

Buffy had to have a good reason for knowing a vampire.

Didn’t she?

-----

Minutes later, Buffy flung open the front door. “Where’s Willow?”

Spike stood from where he was slouched on the stairs. “Bathroom.”

“Is she okay?”

“Dunno.”

“What do you m—”

“Looks like she’ll live,” he interrupted her. “You get the vamp?”

“He won’t be reporting back to Angelus.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What?” Buffy frowned. “Why are you all bad moody?”

“You keep doin’ stuff like that, you’re gonna get killed.”

“Stuff like what?”

“Puttin’ others ahead of you.”

Buffy arched a brow. “Excuse me?”

He stepped forward. “You were more worried about her neck than your own.”

“Yeah,” she said dryly. “Because her neck was leaking. She didn’t need to be there. She shouldn’t have been in a fight like that to begin with. But having her injured and bleeding with a group of vampires is like a…a…”

“Happy Meal?” Spike supplied.

Buffy glared. “You know what? The thing I really don’t want right now is the vampire perspective.”

He tilted his head at her, looking at her critically. “That whole fight you were off, always circling her.”

Protecting her. Because she needed it? Like, say, how you might protect me?”

“I s’pose.”

He acknowledged her point, but Willow’s safety didn’t seem to be high on his priorities.

“I’m the Slayer. Saving people is what I do.”

“Killin’ vampires is what you do.”

“Well I don’t kill them for the fun of it, or didn’t you notice? I kill them to save people!”

“And you can’t do it if you’re dead.”

“I was nowhere near dead!”

“Not this time.”

Buffy crossed her arms. “I can handle a few minions by myself.”

“Of course you can, but—”

“And that’s all that were left—a few. And you know what? It was much easier when I wasn’t worrying about Willow. Which is why I told you to take her away!”

“If you’re so worried about the bird, you should’ve run off with her,” he said, pointing in her face. “I’m not a sodding babysitter.”

I was the one they wanted to fight. They would have followed us.”

“Not if I killed them,” Spike said flatly.

“I can’t believe a vampire is lecturing me about how to be a better Slayer!”

“Just the same vampire you hired to teach you to be a Slayer!”

“To teach me to fight!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “Not to tell me who to save or how to do it! And hired is right. Final word here on how the Slaying is done. You tell me what to do in the training room, but out there, it’s my call!”

He snorted. “For not wantin’ to be a leader, love, you’re doin’ a damn good job of it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“And why did you have to vamp out, anyway?” she suddenly demanded.

“I was fightin’! It’s a reaction.”

“I’m done with patrol tonight,” she said bluntly.

“Guess there’s no reason for me to stick around, then.”

“Guess not.”

The door slammed behind him.

Buffy stood in the entryway for a moment, before her shoulders slumped. A minute more and she turned around. She could see Willow’s head through the crack in the bathroom door.

She’d been listening. Buffy couldn’t blame her.

Buffy acknowledged her with a look, and then she went to sink onto the couch. Willow joined her after a moment.

She looked at Buffy. “Splainy. Now, please?”
 
<<     >>