Delust or Dust by dampersandspoons

Chapter 3

“Well, there’s my answer,” Buffy said with a smirk as she and Angel looked at the outside of the factory. She folded her arms as she brushed past Spike, making a show of glaring at him as she did so.

“Hey, I’ve only been back a few hours!” he shouted, as if that explained why he’d chosen the most obvious hiding place in all of Sunnydale.

Angel grabbed him by the bicep to make sure he didn’t run off but Spike wrenched his arm free and walked ahead of him. He wasn’t to be manhandled. Not when he was wearing the coat.

“Buffy!” Willow shouted in relief when they entered, squirming in her restraints.

Buffy ran over to Willow and began untying her from the chair when Xander stirred from the bed. He was still on his stomach and he hadn’t quite turned to see that he’d been rescued and the fear of his current situation put him in hysterics. “Oh God, I’m sorry I’m a virgin!” he shouted. “Please don’t use me for some weird sacrifice!”

“Xander,” Buffy said from beside him.

He slowly turned his head to the side and his face flushed at the sight of his friend. He grinned at her sheepishly. “Ignore what I just said. I’m under stress, here.”

She sighed in amusement and made short work of untying his restraints. The three of them turned towards the two vampires on the opposite wall. Spike was trying to look casual but both Buffy and Angel noticed his eyes darting to the nearest exit, no doubt to save his own ass should things get hairy.

“He threatened me with a broken bottle!” Willow accused with an extended arm and pointed finger at Spike.

“And he hit me with his fists!” Xander added.

Spike snickered. “You’re lucky I was under the influence, whelp. Could’ve been worse.” He rolled his eyes when Buffy dared him to test her with a challenging look. “All right, I’m sorry. Happy?”

“No you aren’t,” Angel said.

“You’re right, I’m not.” He smirked and shoved his hands in his duster pockets. This was taking too long. Any longer and the Slayer might forget the little pact they made. So he said, “We had a deal, right? I show you mine, you show me yours.”

With a deep sigh, Buffy shoved her hands in her back pockets and turned to Willow. “He wants you to do a love spell. Do you think you can do that?”

“Well, sure! I-I mean...should I?”

Buffy’s forehead furrowed for a minute as she thought about it, then she turned to Spike and said, “Hey, yeah. Why am I helping you again?”

“Because I brought you to your little chums!” he said angrily. “That was the deal!”

“And you expect me to believe that once Drusilla gets here, the two of you are going to play nice? Right.”

“We’ll leave,” he said with conviction, taking a challenging step towards her. “I’ll pack her up and we’ll leave town.”

“Because that worked really well before when you promised the same thing,” she said sarcastically, walking forward as well, not wanting him to have the opportunity to corner her.

“But I mean it this time,” he said sardonically, sliding towards her with renewed arrogance. That insufferable, self-righteous smirk on her face was starting to brass him off. No one got under his skin quite like this slayer with just a look. “Nothing would please me more than to never see you again.”

“So why did you come back, Spike?” She tilted her head and tucked her tongue against the inside of her cheek with a superior smile. “And why go through the trouble of tracking me down when you had Willow tied up and ready for you?”

“Yeah, why did you leave all of a sudden?” Willow asked with a frown on her face but neither the vampire nor the slayer had paid her any attention, too busy with their pissing contest to hear her.

He narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits. Fuck, he hated her with every inch of his body. “Guess I missed the sweet sound of your voice, dove.”

They were standing a foot apart from one another. Buffy with her hands on her hips, looking up at him, Spike with his fists clenched at his sides and his jaw ticking with impatience. The tension was heavy, so much that even Xander noticed. Spike waited, watched as her eyes narrowed and studied him, watched her mouth twist until it set in the middle with indignation and then she shrugged, as if she hadn’t a care in the world, and turned around to walk away.

“All right. Let’s get this over with. My feet are killing me.”

Spike exhaled the breath he’d been holding and looked over at the witch. “You. Start workin’ your love mojo on Dru to get her to come back and we’ll all leave here unscathed.”

She nodded frantically and walked over to the pile of ingredients and crouched on the ground. Buffy looked over her with a bored expression. The rest of them took similar stances of indifference, except for Spike who paced impatiently beside the slayer.

“I think I can do this,” Willow said with a hint of uncertainty. “I-I mean, it’s bare bones but...I’m pretty sure I can do it.”

“You gotta be one hundred percent on this, Red,” Spike warned. “Won’t have you turning Dru into a warthog.” When Buffy snorted, he whipped his head up to shoot daggers at her with his eyes. “Don’t laugh, Slayer. She could screw us all if she’s not careful.”

“Hey!” Willow said with an angry pout. “I can do it, ok? I’m not a...a mage or anything but...I can cast a pretty darn good spell if I concentrate. I bet,” she trailed off at the end. But honestly, she could do it if people had a bit more faith in her.

Buffy was growing impatient, too, however. Her night was bad enough with Angel being avoidy and weird – seriously, he was just sitting there, not even looking at her – and now she had Spike to deal with on top of everything else. Why was she agreeing to this, again?

“Willow, any idea how long this will take?”

“I’m almost done,” she said with a satisfied smile, taking delight in being able to cast a spell. She had the components laid out before her in neat little piles and a spell book opened in her lap. She looked up at Spike and Buffy who were now standing side by side, watching her intently. “I’ll just need a lock of your hair, Spike.”

“What? Why?” He was already running his hands over his precious, platinum tresses.

“For the spell, so…so it knows that you are the reciprocator.”

“Oh. Right.” He sniffed nonchalantly and before he knew it, Buffy had yanked out a tuft of his hair from the back of his head. “Ow! That bloody hurt!” he growled.

She grinned as she daintily plopped the lock of hair into Willow’s hand. “Big baby.”

Willow sprinkled the hair over a pile of herbs and now that everything was arranged nicely for her to begin she said, “Ok, all ready!”

“Finally,” Buffy said in relief.

Willow asked for everyone’s silence then, and once she had it, she closed her eyes and began chanting. Buffy was bored with everything that was taking place and let out a loud sigh. Spike glared at her and whispered, “Quiet.”

She glared back at him and said, “Don’t tell me what to do! I’ll put a stake so far up your—”

“Guys!” Xander said in warning, his eyes darting towards the glowing orb that had suddenly appeared in the center of the room. Spike and Buffy took a step forward, their argument forgotten in the wake of the glorious sight before their eyes.

“Pretty,” Buffy said reverently as the orb hovered magically a few inches off the ground.

“Gana, stay with he who yearns, impress your wisdom to a heart that burns,” Willow was saying, nearing the end of her spell and the orb intensified in its brightness, glowing a soft yellow that cast out harsh white beams of light as her words echoed in the factory.

“May love and lust bind her heart, forever his and never part. Be it true or be it not. Unbreakable unless forgot. Gana make it be, Gana let it be, Gana blessed be.”

Willow’s body jerked violently without warning and her arms flew up ramrod straight in the air as light shone out of her eyes like a beacon. The orb rumbled and vibrated. Buffy instinctively reached for her weapon though what she could possibly stake was beyond her. Xander stood dumbstruck, slightly shaken but in awe of the sight before him as his best friend’s body seemingly became a vessel for something much more powerful than anyone had likewise imagined.

And then the orb exploded with light so bright that they all shielded their eyes with their hands and arms for protection. Just when it felt as if one more second in the light’s brilliance would surely blind them all, a booming noise swept across the room like a sonic wave, so loud it carried a weight with it that knocked them all on the ground. But then it was over.

Willow’s body slumped and the light left her eyes. She was breathing heavily, a drunken sort of expression on her face and she smiled. “Wow, that was neat.”

“Is everyone all right?” Angel asked as he stood up, his face stony as he scanned the lot of them.

Everyone answered in the affirmative, except for Buffy who had yet to move from her collapsed position on the ground. Angel was at her side in a second, sliding his arm beneath her shoulders to try and stir her awake.

“Buffy?” he said, slightly shaking her.

“Right, so, how’s this little love spell work, anyway?” Spike asked, his casual tone making it more than obvious that he couldn’t care less about the slayer’s state. He was able to hear her heartbeat thrumming loud and clear, healthy and strong as usual, and he didn’t know why Angel was making such a fuss over it. She’d come around in a few moments and he knew there wasn’t anything to worry about.

But Willow clicked her tongue in annoyance and scowled at Spike who just shrugged and stared at her unconcernedly. Buffy’s eyes fluttered for a moment and she inhaled deeply as they finally opened and landed on Angel. “What happened?”

“Spell knocked us over,” he replied. “You must have hit your head when you fell.”

Spike had already lit a cigarette and started pacing. The spell was over so if the witch wasn’t going to tell him how it worked, they could respectfully get the fuck out of his factory. “As touching as this is to have visitors, I’d like to be alone to get the place cleaned up for Dru. Rather make a mess by shagging, not shag in a mess.”

And he wasn’t quite sure he’d seen it right, but as soon as he said that, Buffy’s head whipped towards his and her eyes glistened. It almost looked as if she might cry. But why?

“Yeah, let’s go, Buff,” Xander said, already making his way to the door. Willow stood up as well.

“Ok,” Buffy said quietly, dismissing Angel’s extended arm to help her up and standing on her own. She tucked her hair behind her ears and stared at the floor.

“So, we’ll be off as soon as Dru gets here. Scout’s honor.” Spike crossed his heart mockingly.

“Buffy, are you all right?” Angel asked quietly, holding her by the arm in what he thought was a comforting gesture. He could sense something was off about her, though what, he didn’t know. It was troublesome to see her mood shift so drastically.

“I’m fine,” she said coldly, unable to bring her eyes away from a spot on the floor. “Let’s just go.” She tugged on the edges of the long sleeves of her shirt and started to walk towards her friends at the door.

“Ok.” When Angel pulled his eyes away from her, he noticed Spike looking on curiously, his eyebrow cocked as he studied her intently. Anger rolled down his spine at the sight of him. He knew Spike wouldn’t hold his promise and he wished Buffy hadn’t been so trusting of him. “If I find out you’ve killed anyone, you’ll be dust before you can beg me to spare your life. Got it?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Know the drill, mate. Toddle off now.” He made sweeping motions with his hands in a condescending manner, too used to the pissed off expression on Angel’s face to pay it any attention. He watched as the group exited the factory, taking a special interest in the slayer. She paused in the doorway, looked at him over her shoulder, sadly, and then she walked away. Whatever that was about, he had no idea. Not like it was his problem, anyway.

But there was something in the way she looked at him, something in her posture and her eyes that rankled his nerves the more he thought about it and it was aggravating him. He should be focusing on his eternal savior, his dark goddess that would be with him soon, not worrying over a stupid expression on the stupid slayer’s face. He took a deep, unneeded breath and exhaled, shaking it off to get started on cleaning up the factory.

* * * *

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Willow asked as the four of them walked to their respective homes. Angel and Xander were far enough ahead of them that she felt confident she could partake in some much needed girl talk.

Buffy shrugged, folding her arms beneath her breasts and hugging herself. How could she explain it to her friend when she barely understood it herself? “I just wish he would think before he spoke sometimes.”

Willow looked at Angel, assuming Buffy was speaking of him. “Yeah, I think there’s something about being over a hundred that makes guys kinda jerky,” she tried to joke.

“Tell me about it,” Buffy said, glad that Willow understood. “And he’s always talking about her like she’s so great and she’s so perfect and amazing. Whatever.” She kicked a rock.

Willow blinked. This was news to her. “He’s…he’s seeing someone else?”

Buffy balked. “Are you insane? It’s all he goes on about. I mean, why do you think he went through the trouble of coming here?”

“Because he loves you and wants to make sure you’re safe.” Angel might be slowly pushing Buffy away, but Willow knew without a doubt that he still loved her.

However, Buffy wasn’t talking about Angel and didn’t know that her friend was. “Yeah, right. Like he cares about me. He wouldn’t have come all the way back here just for that. No, he doesn’t love me.”

Willow watched her sadly. She hated that Buffy was so upset over all the weirdness with Angel. She was feeling weird, too, because there was still the issue of Xander smoochies. But she didn’t think she could talk to Buffy about that now, especially not when she suddenly burst into tears. “Buffy?”

“I love him so much, Willow!” She fell to her knees, sobbing so hard she was starting to frighten her friend. “He’s the sexiest man I’ve ever seen and all I do is think about him making sweet love to me.” She looked up at her then, her chin was trembling and Willow’s eyes darted back and forth between Buffy and the two men ahead who had come to a stop to see what was wrong.

“Guys, you should uh...go on home now,” Willow said with an expression that showed she had it under control. She didn’t think Buffy wanted Angel to hear her confess how much she missed him and, being the best friend she was, she decided to do anything she could to get them to leave.

“Buffy, are you ok?” Angel called out to her, taking a few steps forward to them.

“She’s fine! She’s just uh...cramps! She has really bad cramps and um, it’s a girl thing.”

Angel looked skeptical but knew how to take the hint. Though his instincts were telling him there was more to the situation, he didn’t want to get involved. He couldn’t, because they were just friends now and he had a feeling whatever she was suffering from was his fault anyway. He sighed and nodded, then he ushered Xander away who protested for only a second before he, too, got the hint. But Buffy hadn’t spared them a glance. She was heartbroken.

“Buffy,” Willow said softly, reaching her hand out to comfort her friend. Buffy batted it away and stood up, forcing a brave face.

“I’m the slayer. I can get over this.” Her chin wobbled. “Oh, God, I can’t! I’m sorry, Willow, I have to go!” She was crying hard again, taking steps backwards away from her friend. Before Willow could say another word, Buffy turned on her heel and bolted towards her house.

“I’ll just...walk myself home, then,” she said sadly, doing just that.


* * * *

Buffy slammed her bedroom door behind her and leaned heavily against it, sliding down to the ground as she wept. It was the worst feeling in the world, knowing that she loved him with every fiber of her being only to realize that he would never love her back, not when he loved Drusilla. Couldn’t Spike see that she loved him? That she would do anything to prove to him how much she cared? Didn’t he know that every move he made simply set her nerves on fire in a way that almost brought her to her knees?

God, she’d never experienced love like this, never wanted someone to pound inside her with such furious passion that it would steal her breath away. Only Spike could do that for her, only Spike could quell the ache between her thighs.

“I love you, my white-haired prince of darkness,” she said with a squeak before she collapsed face-first on the floor with heavy sobs.

Perhaps one day he would know. Perhaps she would go to him and lay it all on the line. He’d been gone for so long and now he was back. He was back and it might be her only chance. He would either tell her that she was a fool, or maybe...God, maybe...he would look at her with those sapphire eyes, he’d touch her face gently and then...

...then he’d rip her clothes off and fuck her against the wall while he repeated over and over how much he loved her, bringing them both to a height untouched by even the Gods of love themselves!

But it would never be so, she was certain. Spike was too perfect to ever be hers. But she had to know, once and for all.

“Tomorrow, my sweet love,” she said dejectedly, her face squished uncomfortably against the carpet but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered, nothing would matter until she spoke with her love, her everything. “I will come to you tomorrow.”

But if Drusilla was already there...oh, heaven help her.

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