AN: Thank you very much to Sirc for betaing! *hugs*

***


The cool summer breeze swept through the cemetery, gently caressing the leaves of the trees that were sheltering the tombs.

“What’s wrong?” Buffy asked her friend as they were walking side by side on a path among the graves, “Why did you want to accompany me on this patrol?”

“Oh, you know...,” Willow wondered about a plausible answer with a puzzled expression, “I...”

“Is this about a guy?” Buffy smirked, considering her friend’s embarrassement as a sign of shyness, which usually came to surface while talking about guys whom she was interested in.

“Yeah, that’s it!” the red-haired girl fastened on the idea her friend had provided with a relieved, enthusiastic smile. “It’s about a guy. Yup.”

“Is he hot?” Buffy kept on asking with a certain glint in the green pool of her eyes.

Puzzled by the question, Willow blushed, Was Spike hot?

“Uhm, he...” she stammered, not liking the direction this chat was leading to.

Registering her friend’s obvious uneasiness, Buffy couldn’t help but laugh.

“So he is,” she concluded with a wink. “And I presume you like him.”

“I...I don’t know...” Willow muttered, her mind nervously seeking a way to get out of this awkward discussion.

As if a saviour, a black leather-clad figure stepped out from behind a tree, blocking the girls’ way.

“Spike!” recognizing the uninvited visitor, Buffy’s muscles immediately tensed, ready to fight.

“Hello, Slayer!” he smirked at her.

“Get out of my way,” she uttered in disgust, annoyed by his cool attitude.

“Or?” he leered at her, “You will kill me?”

“You can bet, I gladly would do it.”

“Okay, guys, calm down, would you?” Willow interjected, stepping between the two, “No one will kill the other, okay?” she looked back and forth at the bickering couple.

“Will?” Buffy casted a strange look at her friend. Willow had never intervened into her business with Spike or others. Why did she do it now, she wondered.

“I’m tired of your fights,” Willow claimed reproachfully. “Spike is out of the baddies’ army now.”

“Oh, thanks a lot, Witch,” Spike snorted.

Willow glanced at him, but ignored his remark.

“You shouldn’t waste your energy on him,” she looked back at Buffy.

“What?” Buffy’s eyes widened in shock. What’s going on here?

“I guess I’ve heard wrong. You’re defending Spike?”

“No,” Willow firmly replied, but immediately corrected herself, “Okay, maybe a little.” Sighing, she gazed the ground. “After all that happened, you might make peace.”

“After all that happened, huh?” Buffy frowned.

“You know... cuddles and kisses...” the redhaired muttered.

“She has a skilled tongue indeed,” Spike noted half-loudly with a michievious grin on his face.

Willow gaped at the two with genuine shock. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to hear more about Buffy’s make-outs with the peroxide vampire.

“Eeew...” Buffy grimaced in disgust, glancing with wide, horrified eyes at Spike, who couldn’t help but chuckling quietly at the Slayer’s indignant reaction.

“You should rather shut up!” looking daggers at him, she punched the vampire in his chest.

Spike growled, but his smirk didn’t fade.

“You won’t grin for long, I promise,” Buffy glared at him and was about to give him another punch, when a hand stopped her.

“Buffy! Would you stop that?” Willow yelled in despair.

Astonished by her friend’s outburst, Buffy turned to her.

“But...” she muttered, “what’s wrong? You can tell me...”

“I’m just fed up with all these unneeded violent acts, “ Willow blurted out.

“But it’s Spike, he is dangerous and...” the Slayer countered, but she was cut off soon.

“He has the chip in his head, he can’t hurt us.”

“Oh, and that makes a difference, huh?” Buffy sneered. “Is he a good man just because of that piece of metal??”

“See?” Spike turned to Willow with a weary sigh, “Told ya. She’s so bloody stubborn...”

“What’s going on here?” Buffy looked at the vampire suspiciously and averted her gaze to the witch. She definitely didn’t like what was going on.

Willow was about to say something, but Spike interjected.

“Let’s play a little, luv,” with a smug smile, he stepped closer to Buffy. “I show you something...”

Furrowing her brows, Buffy glanced at Willow in confusion.

“Sorry, Buffy,” she answered the Slayer’s silent question, “it’s for your own sake.”

Before Buffy could say anything, the world went black and she collapsed unconcious into the vampire’s arms.

tbc...