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Brave New World by JamesMFan
 
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Buffy followed Spike across the brightly lit courtyard. He had a blanket thrown over his head and no one seemed the least bit interested. The vampire wandered over to the shade one of the large buildings provided and peaked out from underneath that blanket. Buffy stayed in the light just to prove that she could.

The large courtyard was actually more of a town square she realised, and she had seen it before. In her vision. This was where Giles had stood and made his speech. Three large buildings stood on each side of the square, the one in front had a large symbol across it – a partially eclipsed sun. H.U’s Headquarters. It had to be.

People bustled through the large open space, rushing to or from work, or wherever else people always had to be. There were no pigeons around scavenging for food, which Buffy found odd.

“Why didn’t you try and get him out?” She asked finally, unable to withhold the question any longer.

Spike sighed deeply. “There was no way, Buffy. He had no case for bail…he had no case period. He confessed to everything and showed no remorse.”

Buffy shook her head. “Not what I meant. Why didn’t you break him out?”

“You say that like its easy,”

“Because it is.”

Spike gritted his teeth. “No, it’s not. Not when you have responsibilities.”

“What about your responsibility to Angel?”

“I had a wife and child to think about,” he growled, eyes glaring. “I wasn’t about to go on the run. Angel knew that, he never even asked me to.”

Buffy scowled, looking away from him. “So you let him rot in there. He’s finally human and now his life is nothing. He’s locked up and alone. Do you even visit him? Does any –”

“Every week.”

That surprised her enough that she couldn’t remember what she was going to say.

Spike shifted the blanket over his head, still somehow looking dignified. “Don’t judge me, Buffy. Don’t judge me because I didn’t risk everything to help a man who did nothing but fuck with me for most of my life.”

“That was Angelus –”

“They’re the same person!” He spat, voice rising. “They’ve always been the same person. I know you don’t want to believe that and he doesn’t want to either, but that doesn’t stop it being true. He’s different now, that I know, and yeah, we get along for the most part. We’ve worked together, fought together, but there’s still a long way to go before I’d call him a friend. And I’d never endanger Mya’s safety for him. Never.”

Buffy bit down on her lip to silence herself. She didn’t know what she was going to say but whatever it was she knew she didn’t have the right. Spike’s first priority was his daughter, she should have guessed that, but it still all felt too out of place to her.

When she did speak again her voice was hushed. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I.” He veered out of the shadows, pulling the blanket up higher.

Spike’s car was parked in one of the bays just ahead and they made their way slowly over to it. Out of the corner of her eye Buffy caught movement and turned to look in that direction. What she saw took a moment for her brain to decipher but when it did her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly.

Propped up against a wall of a building that faced the square, still entirely in view of everyone, were a couple. A couple who seemed to be having sex.

Buffy grabbed Spike’s arm and yanked him over to her, making him cry out as the blanket slipped and he nearly got singed. She apologised quickly, eyes still rooted to the couple, and pointed at them.

Spike pulled his arm away from her, adjusting the blanket and looking thoroughly annoyed with her. “Yeah? What? You know ‘em?”

“Spike! They’re…they’re having sex!” She spluttered quietly, aghast.

“Oh, horror of horrors,” he drawled, starting back towards the car. “Not sex! How very unnatural and naughty.”

She skipped after him, continually glancing back. “They’re in the middle of the freaking square!”

Spike turned to her and his lips parted. “Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. Sex is a lot more open, pardon the pun, these days.”

“No shit,” she gaped, leaning against the car and staring at them. “So everyone just goes around doing…that…here?”

Spike laughed and opened the door, sliding into the relative shelter of the car, door open. “Not always here. Sometimes the park, or the cinema. Although that pisses people off no end – all the grunting during the film.”

“It’s only been thirty years and the world has gone mad!”

“Mad,” Spike rolled his eyes. “It’s not that different. Even back then sex was everywhere; it was always building to this. And who cares? Not hurting anybody. Of course, takes the thrill out of public sex but…”

Buffy grimaced. “It’s kind of gross.”

“That’s why you can’t tear yourself away?”

“Uh, I so can,” She turned away, but it was clear she wanted to turn back. “See. Me. Not looking. Still think it’s gross”

Spike smiled. “Don’t act all high and mighty, love. It’s not like you haven’t tried your hand at the public shag.”

Buffy opened her mouth and then closed it again. Her face instantly flushed and she turned away from him, only really succeeding in turning back to the rampant couple. Muttering for Spike to shut up she got into the car and fastened the weird seatbelt. He laughed and closed his door, starting the car up.

It was the first time they’d really brought up their past with each other and Buffy wasn’t sure if that meant it was okay to talk about them, about how it had been between them. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to bring it up. Maybe it was best left in the past. Even if it still felt like the recent past to her.

“So,” Spike said, pulling out of the bay and turning onto the road. “You goin’ to visit Angel? Sure he’d prefer your visits than mine. ‘Specially since I’m thrashing him at chess.”

Buffy arched an eyebrow. “Chess?”

“The game of true intellectuals. Hence my winning.”

“Maybe we should both go,” she suggested. “Keep his spirits up.”

Spike snorted. “Or not. I don’t fancy sitting in on that awkwardness.”

“It wouldn’t be awkward.”

“Oh, of course not,” he accelerated, swerving around another car. “You two making google eyes at each other while I watch on – happy to blend into the wallpaper.”

Buffy sighed. “I really don’t see that happening. There’d be no google eyes. And if there were it’d be a ménage a google.”

Spike laughed and turned a corner, the tension in his shoulder almost non-existent. The laughter lines creased around his eyes. Buffy felt the peculiar need to reach out and touch those lines. So she did. She reached out and traced her fingertips along his face. Spike jerked the wheel unexpectedly and the car veered through traffic madly, causing a cacophony of car horns to blare at them. The brakes screeched and they came to a halt at the side of the road. Buffy’s eyebrows were raised as Spike turned to look at her.

He cleared his throat and smoothed his hair. “Well, let’s…get home.”

Spike turned back onto the road without another word and Buffy settled herself into the chair, looking out of the window. That had obviously been a monumentally bad idea. It wasn’t the right time for touching yet. She wondered, peeking at him out of the corner of her eye, if it ever would be the right time.

The pulled up in front of his house and went through the motions of getting out of the car and acting like nothing had happened. Buffy followed him into the house, stretching. It felt like it had been a long day, but in reality only a few hours had passed since she’d awoken.
Spike tossed his keys down and threw the blanket off his shoulders. Loud pop music could be heard drifting from Mya’s room. Spike made a face and walked up to his answering machine, pressing a button.

Buffy turned, shocked, as she heard the voice that rang clear through the speaker.

“Spike? Spike are you there? Pick up the phone!...argh. Fine. I got a message, from Sunnydale. From the police. They said they had Buffy. This can’t be right? I mean…I phoned them and they said you took her! I’m coming over there right now. You’ve got some explaining to do, mister!”

There was a loud click and then Willow’s voice was gone.

Spike turned and looked at Buffy. “Well…she’ll be here in about half an hour then.”

“But…” Buffy trailed off, still dealing with hearing her friend’s voice. “Doesn’t she…the police said something about a Willow Rosenberg living in Montana…is that…?”

“That’s the one.” Spike sighed slumping down into the couch. “Plane travel is a lot faster these days.”

Suddenly a loud erratic knocking came from the front door.

Buffy’s eyes widened as she irrationally panicked, looking to the vampire in the chair for help. He sat upright.

“Guess she left that message a while ago, then…”
 
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