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Strip Snap by Lilachigh
 
Chp 23 Times Three
 
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Strip Snap

Chp 25 Times Three



“I don’t understand, Buffy. It should have worked!”

“Well, Will, not too big on the whole magicy thingy, but from the colour of these glass baubles, not so much!”

Anya sniffed disdainfully. “I said all along that the sapphire was too small. I mean, if Spike and William were going to steal jewellery, they might as well have stolen something worthwhile. It was like a pin head.”

Willow glared at the ex-demon. “It doesn’t say anywhere in the spell how big a sapphire you need. It just says sapphire.”

“All I’m saying is – ”

”Right! Whatever! It didn’t work. Willow, do you think a bigger sparkly would help – honestly?”

The witch shook her head. “No, Buffy, I really don’t, because hey, it didn’t even feel as if it was almost working and then failing at the last minute. You know, like when you make a cake and open the oven door and it all goes flat. All we got was that strong wind, which is the very first part of the spell, and then - nothing.”

“So the Master is still out there somewhere, doing Mastery sorts of things and planning my death - again! You’d think he’d get tired of doing it.” Buffy flung herself down in a chair and stared up at the ceiling. The hours were ticking past and they were no closer to ridding the world of Mr Wrinkly Skull.

“Buffy – ” Willow came close and knelt by the side of the chair. Anya was busily turning the pages of yet another book, hunting for another vanquishing spell, but Willow was certain they had used the strongest one there was.

“She’s not here! She’s emigrated to Australia. She’s taken the day off and gone shopping,” Buffy groaned.

“This may mean you have no choice but to kill The Master in the old-fashioned way.”

A pair of hard green eyes turned in her direction. “You mean kill him and allow Spike and William to die as well?”

“And Angel – all Aurealians,” Willow murmured, wondering why her friend never mentioned her first lover as often as she mentioned Spike. “And I know that’s not good for you, killing Angel, not good at all, but you can’t just let The Master run riot on earth for ever more. Not if there’s a chance of getting rid.”

Buffy sat in silence. All the replies she wanted to make seemed wrong inside her head. Words such as ‘OK, no problem. Yes, saving the world is what I do, isn’t it? I killed Angel once – I can kill the man I love again.’ But this time she knew with a cold certainty that this time she wouldn’t be talking about Angel, she would be talking about Spike.

She glanced down at Willow’s face where her friend knelt by the side of her chair. The redhead looked worried but there was that odd expression deep in her eyes that she always had when speaking about Angel and the other vamps. An expression that had never been there when she’d been with Oz. Then she’d known only too well what it was like to be in love with someone outside the norm.

Even now when she and Tara – Buffy’s thoughts skidded against a dead end. Why wouldn’t Willow still feel the same, because, hey, she and Tara were still outsiders even in this modern world with its modern, liberated views.

“Buffy?”

“I’m sorry, Will. I’m not – ” she took a deep breath – “I’m not going to risk loosing Spike and William!”

There – it was said. She could see the stunned expression of disbelief cross the witch’s face, then the dawning of understanding – and a sort of horror.

“Buffy, you can’t mean…you don’t mean…you and Spike? Or – ” her voice suddenly changed to hopeful – “or do you mean you and William?”

Buffy jumped up. “We’ll talk about it later, Will. I’m sorry, I should have said something earlier, but I just couldn’t – I’m still not sure exactly what I do feel. Except that – I care about him! I know you and Xander and Giles won’t understand and oh God, how do I tell Dawnie, but just now, the most important thing is to find me a way to kill The Master without killing him, if you see what I mean.”

Willow bit back the stream of questions that trembled in her throat. Although, somehow, she knew what the answer to the most important one was going to be. Buffy and Spike! She should have seen it much earlier, of course; her friend had always liked bad boys. But Angel had had a soul! Spike was just - oh god, what was Xander going to say when he heard?

‘I’ll…I’ll go and help Anya with the research. There are lots of books we haven’t read yet. Perhaps there’s a bigger banishing spell somewhere. Or hey, perhaps we could phone Giles. He might know of one.”

Buffy frowned. “As a last resort, OK. He’ll be all twittery and tweedery and want to fly over and take charge. You know how he feels about me and The Master.”

Willow nodded, but also knew how Giles felt about Buffy and her relationships with vampires. She didn’t want to imagine what he would say when he knew his Slayer was having feelings for Spike? But perhaps they were just physical sorts of feelings, she reasoned, because jeez, she could feel like that too, so no problem with understanding that, but nothing more. Surely nothing more.

“What are the guys doing?” Buffy asked.

Willow bit her lip, glad of the change of subject. “They’re down in the basement playing cards….”

Buffy made a noise that was almost a snort.” Who was that Roman guy we learnt about? Nemo, no Nero. Didn’t he play the violin while Rome burnt down? That sounds like the Brothers Grimm down there. Oh well, they’re out of harm’s way, I suppose. And they can’t do much damage down there. Thank God for that. And at least they seem to be getting on OK. I thought Spike was going to snap William’s neck when he appeared, which wouldn’t have helped at all.”

Willow nodded. “Big not helping, but Spike doesn’t seem too happy with you, Buff. He glares at you all the time.”

Buffy felt the colour flooding up her neck into her face. She knew exactly why Spike was angry with her and it had everything to do with William and that spooky ability vamps had of being able to smell each other’s presence, even days later.

She took a deep breath. Whatever was going to happen, one thing was very clear. She had to tell Spike that Willow knew about them. That she had, at last, been brave enough to reveal her feelings to her closest friend.

And, even more importantly, that she would fight tooth and nail to stop him from dying.



“What are the girls doing?” William asked, shuffling the cards.

Spike shrugged and continued prowling around the basement, peering behind boxes and moving jars of goods aside to see what had been hidden behind them. “Pulling the spell to pieces, pulling us to pieces, making another plan. Who the bloody hell knows! The Slayer’ll tell us when she’s ready. God, wish there was some beer down here. I can’t believe old Rupert didn’t have a secret stash somewhere.”

“This is the gentleman, Rupert Giles, of whom you speak? Miss Buffy’s – ”

”They call him a Watcher.”

William dealt a hand of patience on the table in front of him. He stared down at the cards – they were made from some shiny substance and the pictures were subtly different from the ones he was used to.

“And he Watches -?”

“He used to watch out for his Slayer, Buffy Summers. Every Slayer has a Watcher. He plans what she’ll do, trains her, researches who the demons are, generally makes a nuisance of himself and finally vanishes back into the woodwork when his Slayer gets the chop.”

“But this Watcher – ”

“Rupert Giles, Oxford man, but he dropped out and became a Watcher. Never got his degree. I think he was taking History.”

William frowned. “We would never have countenanced such behaviour at Cambridge!”

Spike found himself nodding in agreement and cursed silently. William was a bad influence. He could almost feel himself becoming more and more like his former pansy self.

“Do you think we are going to die?” William said suddenly.

“What? Not bloody likely, mate!”

“But if the spell has not worked, then Miss Buffy still has to destroy The Master. And if she kills him, then we die. Isn’t that correct?”

Spike flung himself down in the chair opposite his earlier self. “Stop talking about dying and deal the cards. Five each. I’ll teach you how to play poker. We’ve no kittens to use as chips, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. I did.”

William looked at him, his blue eyes suddenly shrewd. “You do not wish to talk of dying, although you are already dead?”

Spike picked up his cards and pretended to study them. Was he worried about dying? No. He’d seen too much death over the years to fear it. It would be quick and then – well, if he was heading for hell, he was certain to meet up with loads of old mates.

“Doesn’t matter to me. Feel a bit sorry for you, though, Billy boy. You’ve hardly started to live yet. At least I’ve had all the fun with Dru and Peaches and granny Dru.”

“And your years with the Slayer?” William said gently. It was so odd, he thought. This man in front of him wasn’t him, and yet he knew exactly what he was thinking and feeling.

“You are wondering if she will betray you in the end,” he said quietly.

“You mean betray us both!” Spike grunted.

William shook his head. “No. If I die because she kills The Master it will be sad but not a betrayal in my eyes. But she loves you – ”

“She what!” The cards exploded out of Spike’s hands and cascaded onto the floor.

William calmly dealt him another five cards. “I know she loves you. Just as I love Cecily. It was the reason she thought the Charm would never work when we thought it was just a case of us having sex three times to bring you back into this body and vanquish me back to my own time. Do you not remember the last line - Love, Desire and Need times three.”

Spike stared into his own eyes and then realised with an odd little shudder that his had never looked that gentle, that compassionate for a very, very long time.

“Spike – can I talk to you!”

He jumped as Buffy’s voice came from the basement steps. “Sure, Slayer. Come to tell us that the big decision’s been made? That Billy boy here and me, we’re about to head for the big dusting event of the year?”

Buffy glared at him. He was being so impossible! “I thought I could just explain – well, things, to you. Before we go any further.” She took a deep breath. “Please.”

Spike opened his mouth to snark back at her, then realised that William’s hand was cupping the back of his neck. The chill of his fingers met the chill of Spike’s skin and the result was oddly like warmth.

Spike swayed for a second as the enormity of William‘s presence swept over him. Here wasn’t an enemy or a rival. Here was instant support, someone entirely on his side. Himself as he had been before Dru. And the part of him that was William responded.

He reached up and touched covered the hand with his own, then walked across to Buffy, allowing the anger to die down.

“I thought you’d better know,” she said stiffly. “I’ve just told Willow about us.”

“Bloody hell! What did you want to do that for?” The words were out before he could stop them and if he’d had a stake handy, he’d have used it on himself as he watched the hurt and rejection leap into her eyes.

“Fool!” he heard William mutter and, for once, was in complete agreement.

“I didn’t mean – Buffy – listen – look at me! No! Look at me properly, pet. I just meant, why now, with all this happening? You don’t need that sort of pressure.”

“I thought perhaps you’d changed your mind,” she whispered, realising that somehow their hands had become tightly linked.

“Yes, and the moon’s made of green cheese,” he said, aware that he had a smile spreading across his face that he was unable to stop.

“Afterwards – ” she started to say.

“Yes, afterwards,” he replied and their eyes clashed, promising everything.

“Willow wants me to go and kill The Master. But I can’t, Spike. I can’t let you and William die.”

William walked across the room and stood next to Spike. He was smiling, too. He could feel the great roaring emotion of his own joy in the body that would one day be his.

Buffy laughed. “I’ll never get over seeing the two of you standing together,” she said. “The good and the bad.”

Spike stared at her for a long second. “What did you say?”

“You know – it’s a part of that Clint Eastwood film title, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. And whatever I call you two, I can’t call either of you Ugly!”

Spike shook his head and glanced at William. “The good, the bad – oh bollocks, that‘s it, Slayer! We were all wrong.”

“That’s what?”

“You’ve got the Good – William. The bad – I suppose that’s me. But we’ve one missing. Mr Ugly.”

He heard Willow gasp before he saw her standing on the steps above them. “Love, Desire and Need times Three. The three people needed for the spell. That’s why it wouldn’t work, Buffy.”

The Slayer shook her head. “I know I was never the brains of this outfit, but what the heck are you all talking about?“

Willow ran down the final steps. “Spike’s right. We were wrong. It was never about you, Buffy. William is Spike before he was turned. Spike is himself, a mixture of demon and William. But there has to be another one. Spike the pure demon. And we’ve got to bring him forth!”

To be continued.












 
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