Hey all! So a few of you were happy of my return (yay!), but some others seem to have disappeared. Hope they're not mad at me...

So if you're not mad at me, please read, hope you enjoy, and remember: I live for your review-shaped love...

 

Chapter Sixteen – Love Hurts

“Sometimes when I'm alone I wonder

Is there a spell that I am under

Keeping me from seeing the real thing

Love hurts, but sometimes it's a good hurt

And it feels like I'm alive

Love sings when it transcends the bad things

Have a heart and try me

'Cause without love I won't survive.”

Incubus, “Love Hurts”

 

 

“Are we done here?”

Gayle gave her sister slayer a strange look. “You've never been shopping before, have you?”

“I have! Just... never quite like this, you know, like... unlimited.”

“Fine, I'll have mercy on you. Night's gonna fall soon anyway. I just need to stop by the bank, then it's finished, I promise. Tell you what, you stay here and have a latte on me, okay? I won't be long.”

“The bank? Wouldn't it be, like, closed at this time?”

“Mine isn't. See you in a mo'.”

Faith sighed and nodded, then waived for a waiter. Gayle then left the coffee shop, and went to the bank office a block further. She went in through an empty lobby and straight to one of the glass-encased booths at the back. The panel on the door read N. Shaye, Senior Advisor. Behind the desk was a small man in a banker's suit, balding and wearing rimmed glasses, looking through some files. She leaned against the door frame and smiled.

“Hello Nelchael old boy...”

The little man raised his head and stared at the newcomer. Calmly, he took off his glasses, set them on the desk and stood up. He bowed his head, and spoke in a soft voice:

“Good evening, Your Highness. I have to admit I never thought I would see you again.”

“And yet you don't seem so surprised to see me...”

“His Highness was here this morning. He warned me you might be paying me a visit in the next few days. I did not think it would be so soon though.”

Gayle's eyes went wide. “Sam was here?”, she gritted her teeth, “Of course he was... Nelly, are you shaking?”

“I am, Your Highness. We all fear your presence, and what it may imply.”

“Is that why your secretary is hiding under her desk and in tears?”

A loud gasp was heard from the lobby.

“Please show mercy on her,” Nelchael said. “She is but a young one.”

Gayle raised an eyebrow. “You two are related?”

“My niece, Your Highness.”

She nodded, then stood up in a powerful stance. “Buffy Summers. Current Slayer. Lives here in Sunnydale.”

“I am aware of that fact, Your Highness.”

“She's got a house. With a mortgage and all that comes with it. A few debts too. From her late mom. You know what to do.”

“Yes Your Highness. His Highness told me you would probably request this of me.”

“Did he now? What else did he say?”

“Not to ask questions, and do whatever you would require of me.”

Gayle nodded, then turned around to leave.

“May I say, Your Highness, that the years have been kind on you.”

She turned around, and graced him with one of her megawatt smiles. “Oh, Nelly, you charmer you. Of course they have.”

Going through the lobby again, she knocked on the front desk. “You can come out now, darling, I'm leaving.”

 

__…-==-…__

 

Angel slowly came to. His insides were burning. Scratch that, his whole body was hurting him. His limbs, his back, his chest... and yet he felt like he was floating...

He opened his eyes. The light around him was dim, but his vampire eyes quickly adjusted. Above him, the ceiling looked rocky, was he in a cave? What was that circular pattern in the middle? Why was that guy walking on the ceiling and grinning at him?

Wait, what?

Angel wasn't staring at the ceiling, he was staring at the floor. His body hurt because he was tied by the wrists and ankles to some contraption hanging from the ceiling, and gravity was doing the rest. He knew this sort of torture to be particularly painful and efficient for he had used it many times during his time as Angelu–

Oh the fucking irony…

He looked around quickly, as far as his pained neck would allow. The place sure looked like a cave. He was alone with the darkly dressed smiling man, who stood next to an intricately carved stone panel in the ground. Angel quickly recognized the carvings.

Demonic symbols.

“If I believed in that heathen concept called Karma,” the newcomer started in a sickly-warm accented voice, “I'd say it's a bitch, right Angelus?”

Angel noticed the stranger's priest collar, and assumed this was a religious clean-up mission. “My name is not–”

“Yes, yes, I know you don't go by that name anymore, but frankly I don't give a rat's ass. You're here for one purpose only...”

“I am trying to atone for my sins...”

“That's very nice, but still not giving–”

“Look, Father, we're on the same side here.”

To Angel's surprise, the priest burst out in a fit of laughter. To add insult to injury, the guy was actually bending in two!

“Oh, my goodness that's good! That's very good! You actually think–”

The priest stopped dead and whipped his head towards him. All trace of mirth had disappeared from his face. Angel tried follow his gaze, but whatever his captor was looking at, it was beyond his limited field of vision. He nevertheless could feel a presence there...

Caleb crossed the room to meet the suited man standing there. A few words were exchanged, and Angel closed his eyes to concentrate on his vampire hearing.

“Don't kill him yet. Spill his blood, but don't kill him.”

“Why not?”

“The other vampire and the slayer are becoming more and more in tune. They could feel his death.”

“So what? They'll come and we'll kill them.”

“We are not ready. My Lady is not ready. Must I remind you you were supposed to kill those children? You couldn't even get the Watcher!”

“You know why I couldn't, th–”

“Just use his blood and send out a couple of our 'pets'. That should take care of the pests. We'll unleash the rest then.”

“But...”

“Do as we say, Caleb. Do you wish us to be crossed with you more than we already are?”

Caleb tightened his lips together, and bowed his head. The other man vanished.

The priest then returned to Angel, producing a large knife. He smiled again, looking more like a predator than before. “Now, ‘Angel’, as they so wrongly call you… wanna see what a real vampire looks like?”

 

__…-==-…__

 

It was dark when Faith and Gayle came home from their shopping trip, arms full of store bags. The former was thoroughly exhausted, the latter her usual inexhaustible bubbly self.

“Girls!” she shouted out from the foyer. “We're back, and with prezzies!”

Faith rubbed her neck, wondering how her new friend still had any energy left in her, just before she noticed Willow coming out of the kitchen with a worried look and carrying...

“Oh, my god, Gayle…”

“Just Gayle, please, or Mama. What?”

“Willow…”

“Willow what? Went evil again? She looks okay to me…”

“Worse… she has fudge!”

Gayle checked Willow’s hands and gasped. In them was a tub of Double Fudge Choc Chip With Caramel Sauce ice cream.

The ultimate girls’ emergency comfort food for extremely bad situations.

Gayle dropped her bags and raised her horrified eyes to the witch’s. “What happened?”

The witch bit her lips. “Buffy and Spike...”

The brunettes heard a sob coming from the lounge, and their heads whipped around to see Buffy seating on the couch, in tears and leaning against her sister. When she saw Gayle, she got up and ran into her arms.

“Oh, Mamaaaa...”

“Oh, darling, shhh, tell me what happened. Was the big bad vamp mean?”

“Eeeebeeeetmeeee...”

“Okay, it's bad enough for English to become an issue. Come and sit down, sweetie, tell your Mama all about it... Willow, we're gonna need spoons with that...”

As she was leading her friend back to the lounge, Giles came down the stairs. He apparently had removed Buffy's sheets from her bed. When he saw Gayle, her silently held them out for her to see. They were stained with blood.

Gayle gave him a very dark look. “If you dare say ‘I told you so’, I swear I’ll slit your throat!”

The Englishman’s lips tightened, and he just held her gaze as he watched them pass. Deep down, he had a feeling the girl could very well act on her threat.

As he moved to join the group of girls, Faith stopped him. “Sorry, Watcher-man, this is a man-free zone. Dontcha have some books to read or whatever?”

Giles grumbled something along the lines that they were a bunch of ingrates and that he would be at the Magic Box if he was needed. He grabbed his jacket and left the house without saying goodbye to anyone.

Faith turned around and sat on the coffee table beside Willow, facing the remaining three girls seating on the couch. The redhead was planting spoon in the ice cream tub, while Gayle was wiping Buffy's cheeks with a lacy handkerchief and Dawn was rubbing her sister's back.

“Okay, B, wanna tell us what happened?”

“Wauuuuuughh...”

“Using words, maybe?”

Buffy took Gayle's hanky and loudly blew her nose. She then gave it back to its owner, who discreetly threw it in the nearest bin.

“Spike came by this afternoon, when I was alone... We started kissing... and then...”

Willow gasped. “Oh my god! Did he try again to –”

“No! No, nothing like that... It was totally consenting... but then... then...” She broke into sobs again. Willow handed her a spoon full of ice cream, which the blonde greedily sucked on. “I must have been stupid to think he could get reformed! Stupid to think that a cruel, evil, manipulative – Faith, you have bangs!”

Faith, briefly puzzled, quickly smiled and reached for her forehead: “You like it? It was Gayle’s idea…”

“Oh yeah! You look adorable!” chimed in Willow.

“Doesn’t it bring out her cheekbones?” said Gayle. “Not to mention her beautiful eyes…”

“Did you get highlights?”

“Oh my goodness, look at the shoes!”

“Guys!” Surprisingly enough, the voice of reason was Dawn’s. “Could we get back to the important subject, here? A.k.a., my sister getting bitten by her bloodsucking boyfriend?”

“HE WHAT?!?” the brunette slayers cried out.

“How do you know?” Buffy asked her sister.

“I saw the scars when I was helping you to get dressed. And the blood on the sheets. Willow didn't see it because she was on the phone with Tara. I put two and two together...”

“I'll kill him!” Faith jumped to her feet. “I swear the bastard's dust! Just tell me where he is!”

Gayle held her hand out. “Now, now, let's not be hasty...”

“Hasty? Gayle, the guy tried to drain her!”

“I'm not so sure about that...”

Four frowning sets of eyes settled on her. She ignored it. “Buffy, darling... the biting thing... did it happen before, after or during?”

“What does that have to do with anything?!?”

“Trust me, it's important. When did he bite you?”

Buffy looked down, and suckled her spoon again. “During...” she mumbled.

Gayle nodded. “Okay. And did you guys, erm... have an orgasm?”

“Are you and Anya related or something?”

“Please, Buffy, just answer me...”

“YES!” the blonde jumped to her feet, in a rage. “I came, okay? I frikking came like I probably never came before! I had a happy like no other! I reached cloud nine! I...”

She stopped abruptly when she realized the other girls were staring at her, mouth agape. Even Faith looked shocked...

“Oh, dear god...” She sat back down, hiding her face in her hands. Willow took her spoon, filled it again with ice cream and gave it back. Buffy took a large bite. “You guys must think I'm such a raging ho...”

“Now now, darling, what did we say about not caring what others may think?”

“So you do think I'm a raging ho?”

“Not at all. I just don't think you're a raging saint.”

“Yeah, B. So you enjoy sex. What's so sinful about that?”

“It's not that! I enjoyed bitey sex! My-lover-was-trying-to-kill-me sex! That's wrong! That's... sick!”

“He wasn't trying to kill you...” Gayle continued.

“Oh, and how would you know?”

“You're still here, aren't you?”

Realization hit Buffy like a Mac truck. That was true. Spike had stopped drinking her blood only a few seconds later. He only took a few sips. If he had wanted to drain her, he had had the perfect opportunity when she was coming down from her high...

“He... it wasn't a killing bite...” All the girls except for Gayle let out a sigh of relief. “But then... why?”

“Because that's what vampires do! They bite, they fuck, they fight, and sometimes all of the above at the same time! If Anya was here, indeed, she'd tell you it's a helluva rush or something like 'it insures really great orgasms'.”

“But I'm not a vampire...”

“But he is! It's his nature, Buffy, he can only suppress his natural instincts for so long! And during something as wild as sex with you – I'm only assuming here -, self-control is a bitch!”

The blonde remembered how much she had loved to lose control with her lover. How wild and free she had felt. And actually... hadn't she bitten him once?

“Oh no... I did it again. I totally overreacted. Over something trivial and that didn't really hurt me. On the only basis of some sacrosanct principle. What's wrong with meeeeeee?” With that wail, she buried her head in her lap and started crying again with a vengeance.

Without a word, Willow stood up, took Buffy's spoon and went into the kitchen. She reappeared a few seconds later with a bottle of liquor and a single glass. She sat back down on the coffee table, filled the glass and handed it out to Buffy.

Buffy stared at her friend. Willow had never been one for drinking alcohol.

As if reading her friend's mind, the witch explained. “You're way beyond the point where ice cream alone is sufficient, hon.”

The blonde slowly nodded, took the glass and downed its content in one big gulp. She coughed a few times, having swallowed too big a quantity of the burning liquid.

“Erm, Buffy... did Spike... say anything... possessive... when he was biting you?”

Buffy frowned. “Yeah. He growled 'mine', I think. Why?”

“Darling, vampires have this sorta ritual, called a claim. It happens most often during intercourse and it includes biting. Basically, it's like a marriage, only with a deeper, more permanent connection between the partners. It's like unbreakable.”

If Buffy's eyes could have gone wider, they would have dropped out of their sockets. “Are you telling me this was some sick, stupid, twisted way of proposing to me?”

“Not to mention botched. Yeah, that’s what I’m telling you.”

The blonde Slayer pondered this for a second. “So, what, am I married now?”

“I don't think so. Did you drink his blood too?”

“Oh, Gayle, eww!”

“Oh, stop being such a prude. Did you or did you not?”

“No!”

“Then you're still single. Relax. Willow, can I have some of that?” The brunette pointed at the bottle of liquor. Willow nodded and gave it to her, and Gayle drank directly from the bottle.

Buffy was horrified. “My boyfriend proposed... and I threw him out in the suuuuuuun!” Gayle held her in her arms until she calm down, which took a while, but she got there eventually. “Spike must hate me now...”

She was expecting someone, anyone, to say “of course not”, but all she got was silence.

Dawn spoke first. “Maybe 'hate' is a bit strong... I don't think he's a very happy bunny though...”

Gayle stood up. “Tell you what. You're gonna get up, go upstairs and freshen up a little. Then get some rest and maybe go see him tomorrow. I'll patrol for you tonight. Since most baddies seem to have left the area, it should be a breeze. Okay?”

Buffy sniffled and nodded, then made her way upstairs. Gayle went back to the foyer, followed by Faith.

“Do you need me to come with you?”

“Nah, thanks sweetie, I’ll be okay” replied the girl as she was putting on her jacket.

“You sure? You weren’t feeling so hot earlier…”

“Mmmh? Oh, the fainty thing, yeah, much better now. Right as rain.”

“You fainted?” Dawn exclaimed from the lounge. “How come?”

“Low blood sugar. Don't let me catch you doing the same, go eat an apple.”

Dawn frowned and left the two slayers alone.

Faith turned back to the other brunette. “You’re not really going to patrol, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Honestly, G! Why do you keep on fixing them?”

Gayle sighed deeply as she made her way through the door. “God, I truly wish I had an answer for that one!”

Faith was going to join Dawn and Willow when a wail came from upstairs.

“Oh, no! As if my day couldn’t get any worse!”

 

__…-==-…__

 

Spike was sitting on the upper level of his crypt in his comfy chair, a bottle in his hand, and the Clash on Broadway album playing loudly in the background. He kept on replaying the afternoon's events in his mind, trying to make sense of them...

It had felt so damn right to claim Buffy. He had thought about claiming Drusilla when they were together, but it had felt more like a formality. With Buffy, it seemed like an evidence. But even an evidence needs to be thought upon, and he'd just gone a bit her. Made a right mess of things. Just when everything was going along so well. Close to perfection. Well, not counting the usual impending apocalypse, of course, but he had grown used to it by now... But the look in her eyes when she had thrown him out...

When he had tasted her blood... Damn, it had felt so... different. Delicious, sure, like the finest ambrosia, but not just that. Like something, somewhere, was clicking. Could it mean that...?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his front door crashing, due to its sudden contact with a boot connected to the leg of a very angry dark-haired slayer.

“You stupid idiotic undead bastard!”

“Oi! You’re paying for that door!”

“You tried to claim her?”

“… no? Maybe?”

“She thought you were trying to drain her!”

“What? Why would she think that?”

“… ‘cos you had your fangs in her throat? And you drank her blood? And you’re a vampire? And she’s got major betrayal issues with that? Shall I go on?”

“But I could never…”

… What? Hurt her? Hurt her again? Hurt her worse that you already did when you tried to… oh, bleedin’ soddin’ hell.

Spike took his head in his hands. Now he’d done it. He had had a good thing going, the best in both his life and unlife, and he’s thrown it all away…

“Chirpy, you have to believe me...”

“I know you didn’t mean to, you loggerhead, but you could have gone easy on her! She didn’t know about claims, what was she supposed to think?”

The vampire felt like the biggest fool in the world. “She… upset much?”

Gayle winced. “There was fudge.”

“Oh bloody hell…”

“Yup.”

Gayle went to sit on the chair's armrest, almost cuddling against Spike, and he welcomed the attention.

“You know it was a claim bite?” he asked, and Gayle nodded. “It just happened, I just… had to…”

“Yeah, yeah, spur of the moment, I get it. I really do. But… wait a minute!” She seemed to remember something. “It wasn’t just any claim, was it?”

Spike let out a deep sigh. “No, pet. It wasn’t.”

The brunette swallowed hard. “Was it… oh my gosh, a mating claim? Is she your mate?”

A beat. Spike stared at his friend, one of the rare beings he considered as such.

“Every fiber of my body tells me so” he replied in a weary voice.

She stared at him blankly for a moment…

… then started to hit him on his back and arms repeatedly. And yelling.

“Stupid stupid stupid MORON!”

Spike tried his best to parry the blows. “Ouch! Stop it! What’s your problem?”

“Most guys, when faced with the proposal of eternal unbreakable nearly-cosmic bond to their everlasting beloved? They’d do it with flowers, or candle light, or even a ring! You’re even worse than I thought!”

“Yeah, we’ve already established that, I’m a twat! Stop hitting me!”

She did, then growled and started to pace the whole length of the crypt. “Gosh, damnit, fuck… this is actually serious stuff… what are we gonna do?”

Spike frowned. “’We’?”

Gayle seemed to be lost for a second, but quickly recovered. “Yes, ‘we’! Because I fix you guys, that’s what I do! Haven’t you got the message yet? I’ve only done it like a billion times!”

“Yeah, I get that, but why do you keep on doing it? Why is it so important to you?”

Gayle remained silent for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and sat down next to him. “I honestly have no idea. I should have given up by now, if I had any sense. I just… care too much, maybe. You guys have a good thing going, really good. It’s not that common in those circumstances. Scratch that, it’s unheard of. Rare things are to be treasured. I’d hate to see a good love story go to waste.”

He chuckled. “You're a hopeless romantic, you realize that?”

The girl smiled. “Takes one to know one.”

She wrapped an arm around his neck to comfort him, and he let her.

“Alrigh', then, Chirp'. What are 'we' gonna do? Cos, I have to admit, I ain't seein' it...”

“Hey hey, cheer up... Don't be afraid... You were made toooo go out and get h-e-e-e-r...”

The vampire laughed out loud and joined in the song. “The minute you let her under your skin / Then you begin / To make it better / Better, better, better, AAAAAAAh!”

The couple began to laugh uncontrollably, and pulled each other into a tight hug. Spike honestly couldn't remember when he had last felt this accepted and welcomed into a friendship. It was incredibly refreshing. “Oooh, that feels good!”

“See? Nothing it ever as bad as it seems, kid, trust me on that...”

Spike snorted at what he thought was a slip of the tongue. “'Kid'? How old are you and who d'ya think you're talking to, you daft cow?”

“To a childish vamp with age issues, apparently. And you should never ask a lady her age.”

“So how old are y–”

“... and I should warn that any comment or innuendo about the probable unladyness of me would inevitably result in me punching you in the gut so hard, my fist would probably come out through your spine. You were saying?”

The vampire chuckled again. He liked the girl's wit, even when it was threatening...

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Then Spike's eyebrow rose.

“Luv… how d’you know about mating claims?”

Gayle looked like she was looking for an answer when a throat clearing was heard.

Buffy was standing in the doorway, next to the remains of the door.

Gayle quickly stood up and stepped and stepped away from the vampire. “Don't be mad! Look, hands off!”

Buffy nodded, but didn't reply.

The brunette came closer to her, looking worried. “You sure you're up for this? Maybe you should sleep on this...”

“I'm okay. Could you leave us, please?”

The tone was courteous, but firm. Gayle nodded, and turned back to Spike. “Remember... You have found her, so go and get he-e-er.” Buffy shot her a look. “I'm gone.” With that she disappeared.

Once they were alone, Buffy took a few steps towards her lover: “You know why I think she always needs to fix us? I'm thinking it's because her relationship went to hell, and since then she just has this intense need to – why are you frowning at me?”

He was. He did not seem at all pleased to see her. A few seconds passed before he answered.

“I’m hurt.”

“… you’re hurt? I’m the one with the holes in my neck!”

“I mean… Love, do you remember the night… the night before I left?”

Buffy winced. “I don’t want to talk about – ”

“Well I bloody well do!”

She jumped at his harsh tone. But when she saw the pain in his eyes, she decided to listen.

Spike swallowed and continued. “Do you remember what you said to me?”

She shook her head no. It was a lie. She remembered every word.

“Amongst other things, you said you could never trust me enough to love me. A few seconds later, I proved that I was indeed unworthy of you. But months later, you tell me you love me. I reach cloud nine, I think we’ve moved on, that everything is possible… but then I lose control and in a moment of passion, I bite you. I’m truly sorry I caused you pain, Buffy, but you’ve been around vampires long enough to know that a bite is not always fatal! But you thought I was going to kill you, so that makes me think maybe you still don’t trust me, and if you don’t trust me… how can you really love me?”

Buffy managed to talk through the lump in her throat. “I didn’t. Think you were going to kill me, I mean.”

“Chirpy said you did.”

“… I might have phrased it so she would think I did but… I know you wouldn’t harm me, Spike.”

“Then… what?”

She felt the tears coming up. It took a lot to keep them in.

“I thought… you were trying to kill me, yes, but in the sense that… you were gonna… turn me.”

Spike’s jaw dropped. “Buffy… my sweet love… I’ll admit that the idea of keeping you by my side for eternity has a certain delightful appeal, but… I could never do something like that to you… I know you’d hate it. I know you’d hate being like m–”

She put her small hand against his lips, silencing him.

“The thing is…” she said in a small voice, “I’m not sure… I would have stopped you…”

The vampire was at a loss for words. She, Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer, the bravest and most beautiful woman he'd ever known, would be willing to sacrifice her life a third time, just to be reborn as his Childe? It had to be a dream, and a sick one at that...

“That’s what scared me most”, the girl continued. “I mean, don't get me wrong, becoming a vampire is nowhere near a comely prospect for me... I really don't wanna. But... when you bit me, and I was faced with that possibility... Well, it didn't seem that bad. To be able to stay with you... with no-one judging us... forever...” The tears were slowly showing as he voice became strangled. “And it scared me that the one thing I was supposed to fight–”

Spike nearly ran to her and wrapped his strong arms around her. She was fully crying now. “Hush, my love, my darling, sweet love... Don't cry...”

“I'm sorry! I do trust you, I do! It's me I don't trust! I don't know what I'm capable of, and I just projected my fears onto you, and it's so unfair–”

He silenced her with a kiss. She relaxed, and he pressed his forehead against hers.

“Buffy, I love you. Nothing else matters. I'm sorry I bit you. I did it in the heat of passion. I can't honestly say I regret it, but I'll control myself from now on, I swear.”

The slayer sniffled. “Weeeell, if you must, you must...”

“Huh?”

“Look, I'll be honest with you: I... enjoyed it. I mean, I'm not quite ready to do it again, but I wouldn't be against the idea of one day... maybe... soon...”

The vampire thought about this, then decided to take the plunge. “Since we are being honest, my love… it was more than just a bite…”

“I know.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “You wha’?”

“Gayle told me about it.”

Of course she would’ve. “And just what did good ol’ Chirpy have to say?”

“You tried to shotgun-marry me.”

The vampire made a face. “Cor, pet, it wasn’t like that…”

“You started a mystical vampire ritual that would tie us together forever without asking me first. How would you call it?”

Spike opened his mouth to protest, but then remembered a certain event… “Actually pet, if you’ll recall, I did ask you…” he said with a smirk.

“Huh? When?”

“Three years ago.”

Buffy frowned, but quickly caught on. Willow’s spell. She couldn’t help but smiling. “You have got to be kidding me!”

“Did it all by the book. Down on one knee, with a ring an’ all… and since I never got the bloody thing back, we never properly broke it off either, so we’re technically still engaged.”

“Oooh, Giles is gonna love that.”

They laughed wholeheartedly, and it felt so good after the day’s tension. Unconsciously, she leaned into his arms. He held her close and buried his nose in her hair..

After a moment, Buffy spoke. “So this claim thingy… it goes away after a while, then?”

Spike nodded. “You never claimed me back, so yeah, s'not permanent.”

“Ah... okay.” She seemed almost disappointed.

“Pet, if I may say something... You haven't spoken once about being against the idea.”

“What idea? The claim idea?”

“Bein' engaged to me.”

Buffy bit her lip. “You know... I kinda gave up on the whole picket fence thing when I was called, so... It's gonna take me a while to accept that possibility back into my life.”

“So it's a maybe?”

“It's not a no.”

“Good enough for me.” He crushed his lips to hers, and she welcomed him back inside her mouth. He was right. Nothing else mattered...

When she felt his kiss grow more passionate, she pulled back. “Mmh, no baby, not tonight.”

The eyebrow rose again. “Why not?”

“It's, erm, my time of the month...”

The vampire's eyes went wide. He could have sworn he's heard a choir of angels...

Seeing the change on her lover's face, Buffy shook her head, barely managing to suppress a smile: “Oh, no no no no...”

Spike licked his lips...

“Dream on, Mister!”

… and pounced.

 

__…-==-…__

 

Outside the crypt, just a few paces away and listening to the lovers' joyful noises, Gayle was sitting on a tombstone in her usual relaxed manner.

“My love story went to hell, huh?”

She dug inside her pockets for her smoking necessities. She placed a cigarette between her lips and flicked her lighter once. Then twice. Damn it, it was empty.

She threw to the ground like a used tissue. After a moment, she looked around the cemetery very carefully. Empty too.

She brought her hand closer to her face and rubbed her fingers quickly together. A small blue flame appeared from her fingertips. She used it to light the cigarette, then made it disappear with a wave of her hand. She inhaled deeply, and slowly exhaled the smoke before rising. 

“You have no idea how right you are.”

End of chapter sixteen.

Some lines borrowed from the Season Seven episode “Never Leave Me”, written by Drew Goddard. Nelchael is sorta borrowed from Glen Duncan, another writer who kicks major globes...

Some of you might wonder after this chapter if Spike is going to turn Buffy... Not in this fic. I just wanted to illustrate how love can sometimes twist one's vision of the world. I'm just a sad ol' romantic...

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