With This Ring - by Lilachigh

Author’s note: From now on, the AU Sunnydale characters will just have the initial T attached to their name, instead of me spelling out Two every time. Hope people can relate to that!



Chp 8 Starved for too Long

It was dark in the kitchen. The portal glowed briefly and two figures flew through it, hand in hand. ‘Bloody hell!’ Spike skidded to a halt before he could crash into the sink. ‘I’ll say it again, couldn’t the Willows have put the portals somewhere sensible! Like in the middle of the back yard!’

Buffy picked herself up and gazed round. Nothing had changed, and here, unlike the other Sunnydale, all her memories of both places were complete.

Spike padded over to the fridge and pulled out a packet of blood. ‘Good old WillTwo. She’s stocked us up with supplies, pet.’ He threw Buffy a can of Coke and put the blood in the microwave.

Buffy sat on a kitchen stool and watched him, lovingly. The enemy of minutes ago was now her husband, the man she adored, passionately, deeply, endlessly. ‘Why is it that in this Sunnydale, you have the appetite of a horse?’ she asked with a giggle.

Spike turned and raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Well, pet,’ he drawled, ‘in this world, I need to keep my strength up!’ He prowled across the room to her, took the can away from her and kissed her, licking the remains of the fizzy drink from her tongue. ‘Hey, slayer,’ he muttered against her neck. ‘Do you realise everything we do here is legal?’

‘Well, it’s legal wherever we are,’ she replied grumpily, pushing her hands under his T-shirt, searching for his bare skin like a woman who’d been starved for too long. ‘It’s just that we don’t remember!’

She pressed the length of her body against his, trying to imprint every centimetre of him into her brain cells. Surely this feeling should survive back in the other world?

‘Achemm! Excuse us! We did knock!’

They broke apart slowly. Here there was no need to feel ashamed at showing their feelings for each other. OzT and WillT stood in the doorway, smiling. Behind them stood a pretty, creamy skinned girl with long braided hair.

‘Buffy, Spike, this is Tara, Xander’s girl friend.’

Buffy gave her brain a mental shake. By his expression she knew Spike was doing the same thing. Keeping everyone’s relationships straight in the two different worlds was confusing. Here Tara and Xander were obviously together. Oz and Willow. And she was married to Spike.

‘Hi, Tara.’

‘B..B...Buffy, hello. And S...Spike. It’s great to meet you both at l...last. Do you think you can help f..f...find Xander?’

Buffy gestured to them all to sit down round the dining table. ‘We still don’t fully understand what’s been happening. Will, can you explain?’

The red-headed witch bit her lip. She looked pale and unhappy. OzT reached out and placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. ‘Buffy, we don’t know what to think. Xander’s been, well, Xander‘s been acting oddly for a couple of months now.’ She flashed a glance over at TaraT who nodded, head down, fiddling with the piece of ribbon at the end of her braid.

‘Quiet, jumpy, a bit bad tempered.’

‘On the sauce?’ Spike broke in laconically.

‘You mean d..drinking?’ TaraT looked up, her cheeks reddening. ‘No, he’s b...been much better since we...since we - ’

‘OK, we get the picture!’ Buffy broke in hastily. ‘So no drinking. What about work?’

‘He got a job just after you left last time. Working bar at the Bronze. He seemed really okay with it.’ OzT’s voice was concerned.

‘I used to go there after m..my Wiccan meeting,’ TaraT put in. ‘We’d have coffee and talk and he’d walk me home. Then...l...lately, he asked me not to c...come to the Bronze.’

‘Why?’

‘H..he said there was a bunch of roughs using it and h..he didn’t w...want me around them,’ TaraT explained, her eyes huge and glistening.

Spike tipped his chair onto its back legs. ‘And has everything else been OK between you?’

‘W..what do you mean?’

Spike looked slightly disconcerted. This Tara was even shyer than TaraOne. ‘Well, I take it you and Xander are, well, - ’

‘He means you are sleeping together, aren’t you?’ Buffy said, glaring at her husband, who leered at her and made a kissing motion with his lips, ‘Honestly, Spike, what’s that got to do with Xander going missing.’

Spike suddenly looked serious and banged his chair back down with a thump. ‘A lot, sweetheart. Bloke doesn’t walk out on a gorgeous girl like Tara for no good reason. Just wondered if he’d been showing signs of problems, that’s all. I know humans do have these little failures in that department, unlike us vamps, who as you know only too well...’

‘Yes, all right. Thank you, Mr Love God 2000,’ Buffy said hastily, not wanting details of their love life to be broadcast round this Sunnydale universe.

‘Anyway, Buffy,’ WillT said, trying to get the conversation back on track. ‘Three nights ago, Xander never came home from the Bronze. Tara went down there the next day and the girl behind the bar said she thought he’d left at the usual time, but no one had actually seen him leaving.’

‘I checked out a couple of other bars,’ OzT said. ‘You know - sorry, Tara - but ones where guys go sometimes.’

‘And I’ve cast a locator spell for him,’ WillT said. ‘Tara helped so it was quite a strong one. Buffy, there’s no sign of him in Sunnydale at all!’

Buffy looked at Spike and could tell by his expression that he wasn’t too happy with this news. In this world, he and Xander were quite friendly. In the old Sunnydale, she knew the vampire would just have laughed and hoped out loud that some little nasty had taken a bite out of the boy, but not here. Here he was concerned. It left her feeling very odd.

‘So, we don’t know what to do next,’ WillT went on. `That’s why I sent Oz through the portal to get you. I know how busy you are over there, but we really do need your help here, Buffy.’

‘Don’t worry, Will, we’ll find him,’ Buffy said. ‘Me and Mr Love God will go and call on a few of the neighbourhood demons. If anything has happened to Xander, they’ll know for sure.‘

‘B..Buffy...’ Tara looked up, her beautiful face stricken. ‘What if Spike’s sort of right. What if he’s just decided he d...doesn’t want m...me any more? Perhaps I sh...should move away and then he m...might come back.’

Buffy laid a hand gently on the other girl’s arm. ‘Tara, he wouldn’t walk out on someone he loved. Even if he was drinking a lot - which you say he wasn’t. Xander may not be a fighter like me and Spike, but he’s still brave in his own way. He wouldn’t be a coward about your relationship. No, something’s happened to him. And tomorrow we’ll find out exactly what.’

When Willow, Oz and Tara had left, Buffy went upstairs to their bedroom and sat at the dressing-table, brushing her hair. It crackled under the bristles, flying up round her head like a fiery blonde halo. She was gazing at her reflection when she felt two hands on her shoulders, even though she could see no one in the mirror. The brush was taken out of her hand and she arched her head back as Spike continued where she’d left off.

‘You look worried, pet,’ he said, softly. ‘Do you think something bad’s happened to the boy? Want to go out now and have a hunt round. It’s almost dawn, but I could still get a couple of hours in with the demon gangs.’

Buffy shook her head. ‘I can’t believe OzT wouldn’t have discovered if he’d been in a fight. The vamps and demons would be only too happy to tell him if they’d made a killing.’

Spike threw the brush down and pulled her into his arms. She buried her fingers in his hair as he bent his head to kiss her, deeply, passionately.

For ages they stood, locked together, just staring into each other’s eyes. It was all so natural, Buffy thought. Here they were, together, married, in love, in their bedroom and there was no need to worry, no need to apologise, or hide or feel any guilt. For a fleeting second, Riley’s face came into her mind, then faded away like mist on a hot day. He was there but she was here and so was Spike, her husband.

He slid his hands under her T.shirt and she quivered as his rough fingers sort the hard tips of her breasts and circled them slowly. She heard little mewing noises coming from her mouth, it was getting hard to breathe.

Now he was peeling off her jeans, hissing as he scented the wet scarlet panties that only just covered the curls between her thighs. She groaned. He was being so slow, she was shaking with desire and expectation. She reached for him, but he just tutted, smiled and held her hands effortlessly behind her back.

Then he reached down, slowly sliding his other hand inside her panties, tugging at the curls, easing her lips apart, never breaking his gaze, glorying in the expression that crossed her face as his fingers found her clit.

‘Please, please, now, do it, do me, now, Spike, for god’s sake, fuck me, it’s been so long, so long, do it, now, now, please, oh don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t...oh god, ’ A babble of words broke from her as his thumb strummed her, once, twice, again and again and oh god she was flooding, her legs stiffened, and she screamed as her body roared up and up and up, the climax shattering her into tiny atoms of feeling, each one exploding in red, gold,crimson and scarlet stars.

Then they were in the bed, naked and before she could come down from the heights he’d sent her to, he was deep, deep inside her, riding her harder and harder, and she’d never known it could be like this, oh god, there was no way he could get any deeper inside her, but he tossed her legs up over his shoulders and as her bottom came up off the sheet and her head tossed side to side in ecstasy, he vamped out and thundered out his climax as she exploded into hers.

An hour later Buffy came to from her fourth climax. Spike’s head was buried between her thighs and she felt as if every bone in her body had turned to jelly. But oh god did she feel good.

Now she realised why she always felt she was holding back with Riley. Somewhere, buried inside her consciousness was this knowledge that she belonged to Spike. Her body knew it, even if her memory didn’t. And even if she had sex with Riley, she knew it was a very pale imitation of the real thing.

She could feel the breath he didn’t need tickling her damp thigh. If he reached his tongue out and licked her clit one more time, she would surely die. And if he didn’t, she would kill him!

Buffy lay back and shut her eyes. She knew that very soon they would have to get up and start on their hunt for Xander. She whimpered in glee as the cold tongue suddenly prised her lips apart and assaulted her clit again. And before all sense vanished from her mind and the waves of passion overtook her once more, she knew it might not be a very long hunt.

For just as OzT had been leaving, he’d told her one little extra thing. The name of the girl behind the bar at the Bronze was - Anya.


‘



Buffy walked through the town streets to the Bronze. She pushed open the big doors and the smell - stale beer, cigarette smoke and rancid sweat from teenage dancers, assaulted her nose.

She and Spike had decided that she should come here during the day time to catch the staff before they became busy. Spike had kissed her and gone down into their basement, heading off through a tunnel that linked up to the maze of underground passages he knew so well, both here and in their other world.

As he said, it wasn’t that he didn’t trust OzT to find out from the local demon community if XanT had been in a fight, but there were some vamps who kept themselves hidden out of sight and he knew exactly where to find them.

Inside the Bronze, a bored looking boy was sweeping the floor and behind the bar - yes - Buffy’s stomach lurched - it was AnyaT, polishing the glasses.

“Hi,” Buffy said cheerfully. “You don’t know me - my name’s Buffy Summers.”

“Hi! Can I help you?”

Buffy hesitated. Was this Anya a vengeance demon, too? It wasn’t the sort of question you could ask straight out. Had XanT annoyed her in some way? Knowing what pain Anya had inflicted on victims in the other world, perhaps she’d given XanT some dreadful punishment.

“I hope so. I’m looking for a friend of mine. He works in here in the evenings. You must know him. XanT - I mean Xander Harris.”

AnyaT’s eyes lit up. ‘Xander - oh yes, of course I know him. ’

“I haven’t seen you here before, have I?” Buffy said cautiously.

“No.” AnyaT frowned. “I came to Sunnydale when I married my boyfriend, - ” she stopped and to Buffy’s horror, tears glinted in her eyes.

“Hey - are you okay?”

AnyaT dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Sorry. Yes, I’m fine!”

Buffy patted the girl’s hand. This Anya was thinner, she looked desperately tired, her hair a mousey colour, badly cut, her skin was blotchy, as if she spent too long indoors and ate too many burgers and shakes. She was wearing faded jeans and a dreadful beige top with a purple pattern worked into the long sleeves.

AnyaT sniffed hard. “Thanks. The cigarette smoke makes my eyes ache. I’d really like to get a job in a nice dress shop, but we need the money and the Bronze pays quite well.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the Bronze. We come here a lot.”

AnyaT pursed her lips and looked disapproving. “Well, as soon as I find myself another job, I’m leaving. But my husband needs our money. He’s writing a book, you see, so he can’t take a regular job. He’s very clever. I don’t know what he sees in me.”

“Have you been married long?” Buffy glanced at the girl’s red, rough hands where the shiny gold ring sat and thought it was a great shame the guy wasn’t a vampire so she could stake him!

“No - not long. I met him in New York, but he comes from Sunnydale so we’ve come back here to live. He’s had a really hard life and he’s trying to put it all into his book.
Anyway, you’re not here to listen to my life story, are you? You said you’re looking for Xander. Isn’t he at home? No, wait, his girl friend came in searching for him, didn’t she?”

“Yes, Tara. Someone told her he left here at the usual time. Was that you?”

“No.” AnyaT folded the drying cloth neatly and lined up the little dishes of peanuts in a nice straight line. “There’s another girl who sometimes does shifts when we’re very busy. She was working with Xander that evening.”

Buffy sighed. She didn’t seem to be getting very far. When OzT had told her there was a girl at the Bronze called Anya, she’d been absolutely certain that the trail would lead straight to XanT. Even though in this universe he was in love with TaraT, she’d thought that he must have made some connection to AnyaT.

But obviously she was wrong. She couldn’t see XanT being attracted to this dowdy, timid girl at all. TaraT was shy, but you still felt she could be as brave as a lion if something threatened the man she loved. This Anya seemed far more uncertain, worried. It was all so confusing, trying to keep the different world’s relationships straight.

“Okay, thanks for your help. Can you jot down the girl’s name and address for me?” Buffy asked, pulling a coaster across the bar and fishing in her pocket for a pencil.

AnyaT started to write when the door to the Bronze banged open and a man strode in. “For god’s sake Ahn, aren’t you ready yet? I thought we were going out for lunch. I’ve been slaving over that computer all morning. I don’t think you’ve any idea how hard it is when I’m pouring out all this emotion in words, not to eat properly.”

Buffy spun round. The same dark hair, soulful eyes, long thick lashes any girl would die for, same pouty, spoilt mouth. There was no mistaking him. “Parker!” she said.

“Well, goodness, look who’s here! Hi Buffy! Long time no see. Have you been away? ” The sulky expression was washed away by the blinding, charming smile she remembered so well. But in this world, thank god, she knew she hadn’t slept with Parker. She remembered they’d gone out on a couple of dates and she’d ended up loathing him so much that she’d dumped him as quickly as she could.

“Yes, I’ve been - out of town,” she said shortly.

“Oh - really - interesting - I’ve been in the Big Apple myself, media work, you know. TV, radio, film scripts Got a big commission to write a book. So we came back to Sunnydale. I need the sun, the quiet - ”

“The money your wife earns,” Buffy said before she could stop herself.

ParkerT shot AnyaT a filthy look. “Been telling everyone our private business, pet?” he said angrily.

“No, of course not.” AnyaT gasped and winced as he grabbed hold of her arm.

“I’ve told you before what will happen to you if you don’t keep your stupid mouth shut!”

“But Parker, I didn’t, I haven’t - ”

“I think you should leave the lady alone.”

They all spun round. Spike was leaning against a table, hands in jeans pockets, staring at ParkerT and the girl.

ParkerT sneered at him. “Oh, yes, and who’s going to stop me?”

Buffy groaned. “That is not a sensible thing to say to Spike,” she said cheerfully. “Just let go of Anya’s arm before my husband makes you.”

“I can do what I like to my own - Yooowwwwwhk” His voice screamed out as Spike effortlessly lifted him and hurled him across the room to smash into a table and lie moaning on the floor.

“Parker!” AnyaT started to run across to him, but Spike caught hold of her round the waist and turned her to face him.

‘Stupid bint!” he shouted. “Stop wasting your time on that one. Walk away while you bloody well have the chance.”

“Spike?” Buffy asked cautiously, not sure what he meant.

Without another word, Spike pushed up the long sleeve of AnyaT’s shirt. Buffy gasped and felt sick. There was a row of black and yellow bruises all the way up the girl’s arm and what looked suspiciously like a cigarette burn.

AnyaT had began to cry. “He doesn’t mean it,” she sobbed. “He’s so artistic, you see. So sensitive. I annoy him by being clumsy, by being ugly. He needs to be surrounded by beauty and lovely things. I can’t earn enough money for us. It was different in New York. I had a good job. But here....”

“Anya!” Buffy reached out to grip her hands. “Listen to yourself. This isn’t your fault! It’s his. I dated him a couple of times in college and he was a rotten little prick then and, as far as I can tell, he hasn’t changed at all.”

‘Did he ever hit you?” Spike’s voice was dreadful because it was so quiet, so deadly.

Buffy shook her head. “There were rumours from other girls, but I broke it off with him before we got physical.”

There was a long silence broken only by ParkerT’s moans that doubled as Spike kicked him in the ribs. Buffy knew that was nothing compared to what he would have done if she’d told him that on their second date in this universe, ParkerT had grabbed her hair and pulled it so hard tears had run down her face. She’d been so tempted to kill him herself, but had known she had to control her Slayer strength. Spike would have no compunction on that count.

“You don’t need to stay with him,” she insisted to AnyaT.

The other girl looked at Buffy and for the first time, the Slayer could see a resemblance to the other Anya dawning in her expression. “The truth is - I’m scared of him,” she said simply. “I thought he was so sweet and sensitive when I met him. I wanted to look after him, make up to him for all the bad things he told me had happened to him in his life. But when we got here he changed. Nothing I did was right. And there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with his life or his family! I didn’t know how to deal with him on my own.”

“Well, you’re not on your own any more, You’ve got us right behind you. But now you’ve taken the first step, I don’t think you’ll let him scare you so much.”

AnyaT pushed her mousey hair behind her ears and straightened her shoulders. ‘I’m going home to pack,’ she said. “I’ll book into a motel tonight and find myself another room tomorrow.”

Buffy scribbled a phone number on the back of AnyaT’s hand. “That’s my friend Willow,’ she said. ‘Ring her, tell her what’s happened. She knew Parker in college, too. She’ll put you up. Trust her.”

Other words trembled in Buffy’s mouth. Words like - if you meet a tall, weird looking guy called D’Hoffryn, give him my regards.

“Thanks. Oh, here’s that name you wanted.” Anya handed over the coaster and without another look at the moaning figure of her husband still lying on the dirty floor, she walked out of the Bronze.

Spike crossed to Buffy and wrapped his arms round her. “Leave you alone for ten minutes and you’re up to your pretty little round ass in trouble,’ he murmured into her hair.

Buffy relaxed against him, luxuriating in the feel of his muscles wondering how she’d come to be so lucky in both universes.

“It’s all so weird, Spike,” she said. “How can AnyaT be an abused wife and our Anya is a vengeance demon? Everything is different here - even us! Can you imagine us spending a night like last night back in the other Sunnydale?”

Spike growled deep inside his chest as the memories of their night roared through his body. He kissed her, running his lips along the delicate lobe of her ear. “Perhaps one day we will,’ he said hopefully. ‘In the meantime, pet, we don’t seem to have got very far in our XanT hunt. The vamps are doing their three monkeys routine all over town.”

Buffy sighed. ‘Perhaps this girl can help. She was the last person to see him.”

She read the name AnyaT had written on the coaster and began to giggle. Oh no! It couldn’t be, but then, why not? She handed it to Spike.

“Bloody hell. Cordelia bloody Chase!”

to be continued