A/N: First, thanks to the lovely DoS for betaing as always (oh, if you see anything wrong with the part with Giles in it, it would be totally my fault- I added it in at the last minute). And also thanks to all of you who have reviewed. I just wanted to quickly say that this will evolve into a Spuffy (obviously), just not right away, even if it may seem like it. There's still a lot of traumatic things that need to be addressed.

I know I haven't updated in awhile, and it seems like it might be every several weeks now, especially since I'm in school. Anyway, sorry for the wait, I wish this had been longer, but either way, if you enjoy it, it was all worth it. Oh, and I totally ripped a few lines from "Into the Woods."

And on with the fic...




"Walk Away"


Riley looked down on the seemingly quiet town of Sunnydale from the helicopter. He honestly felt as if he hadn't left soon enough. He should have known months ago that Buffy wasn't his—not really–and her harsh admission that she had never loved him only confirmed it.

He didn't need that.

He deserved better.

Even so, he knew that he still loved her, more than he loved anyone in his entire life. He hoped desperately that this mission in South America would give him some direction…some peace.

He was a soldier again, and now was the time to get back to the basics.

~~~~~

The more Giles began to think of it, the more disturbed he became. Not only did his Slayer, his charge, the young woman who was like a daughter to him have some sort of penchant for allowing Spike to imbed his fangs in her neck, the vampire in question, conversely, appeared to not want to cause her actual harm.

The implications of it all was tremendous.

It was obvious that the two once mortal enemies had created...some sort of attachment towards one another?

Giles audibly scoffed at that.

Yes, that's putting it mildly, isn't it?

But damn it, how did it all happen? When did it happen? Giles could most certainly feel a migraine coming on.

Dear god, they have feelings for one another.

No, that's not exactly...

Yes, they do. They really do.

It was in that moment that perfect clarity descended upon Giles, simultaneously making him feel quite ill.

"What's the matter, Watcher? You don't look so well."

"Yes. Of course. Right," Giles muttered to himself.

"What?" Spike asked, quite perplexed as to what Giles was going on about.

"I must...that is, I...have to go. Air, and...quite."

"You sure you're okay, Rupes?"

"No, I'm bloody well not! Buffy might...she...You-- Dear lord," Giles said, sounding a little giddy. He was almost on the verge of hysterics.

Spike looked him over with a critical eye, pouring a generous shot of bourbon into the Watcher's tea.

"You wouldn't by any chance be crackin' up now, would you?" Spike questioned, handing him the cup of tea. Giles didn't answer him, instead opting to keep his eyes trained on the soulless vampire, sipping the tea slowly.

"It should be okay." Spike's tone was thoughtful. "I mean, so far, she's only let me get away with it."

Giles had a sudden glint in his eye at that, slamming the cup down upon the counter, sloshing some of the dark, hot liquid of the tea upon it.

Yes, indeed. You and Angel.

"Don't you see? That is precisely what's wrong with this entire situation!"

"What?" Spike looked suddenly offended. "It's not as if I'm gonna hurt her."

Giles sighed, looking suddenly weary. He turned his back on Spike, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door.

"But don't you see, Spike?" he questioned softly, his back still to him as he unlocked the door.

That's the problem Giles thought to himself.

And with that, he left, leaving Spike to his own thoughts.

~~~~~~

Buffy could honestly say that she was kinda glad for the reprieve. Though only momentarily, she got to not think of the weird, sharp turn her life had suddenly taken, and the vast shades of custom color gray it now forced her to dwell in.

This was easy…simple.

Getting back to the basics.

Vampires attack Slayer.

Slayer dusts vampires.

Not that she wanted to, really.

She had been going to give them a pass. Honestly. They didn't seem to be killing people, after all. But they absolutely would not let it go that she had crashed their vampy whore house. She didn't understand what they were so touchy about.

It wasn't as if she had burned it down, or something.

But apparently, her mere Slayer presence there the night previous was enough to shut down their operation.

Indefinitely.

Shame, that.

Methodically, she dusted them one by one with a wooden pole. But she didn't take any real pleasure in it. No glee. Nothing.

She was still a bit too distracted to really enjoy it.

But as she dusted what she had thought to be the last one, she turned around and saw one more.
It was her—the one whom she had seen with Riley…had listened to as Riley had told her to bite him harder.

She looked frail—sickly. Like a crack addict. Maybe she did drugs before she was turned, and was doomed to look that way forever.
She was terrified, probably wondering if she had thirty seconds, let alone an eternity.

Buffy lowered her weapon. It wasn't the vamp whore's fault that instead of hunting and killing, she had humans pay her to bite them, or that Riley chose her.

Not that Riley was relevant anymore.

With a sigh, Buffy tossed the spear-like stick off to the side. The vampire, shaking in fear, turned and fled down the alley.

And Buffy let her.

"So, is this a new thing? Letting murderous vampires walk away? Or run, rather."

"Xander." Buffy turned, and took in his look of utter disappointment.

"As far as I could see, she wasn't killing."

"So what now? Gonna invite her over to your place for coffee? Or how about Giles' for tea? Seems to now be a favorite pastime of yours."

"You don't understand. It's not that simple."

"Then explain it to me, Buffy. I mean, I know your relationship with Riley was on the rocky—"

"You what? How?"

"It was right in front of my Xander face. But what I don't understand is why you were so easy on Spike. Just because your relationship with Riley was currently imploding, that was no excuse to just let Spike walk away. He set Riley up and had him...had him raped Buffy."

He said it as if the entire situation disgusted him, as if her decision making skills currently disgusted him.

He was making a judgment without all of the facts.

Buffy frowned, shaking her head, making an instant decision.

"You don't know everything that happened, Xander."

He spread his arms in a mock welcoming gesture.

"Then by all means, fill in the blanks. Explain to me your reasoning for acting like a crazy person."

"Riley...he raped Spike. I can't fault Spike for what happened tonight, for getting his revenge. Not completely."

"What?" Xander, once full of righteous indignation, suddenly looked pale from being knocked off of his high horse. For a moment, it looked as if he might not believe her, but then a look of confusion set in, as he thought twice about doubting the judgment skills of the girl who had never been wrong before…not about something like this.

Buffy nodded at him slowly, unable to repeat the statement aloud again.

"Spike was so hurt, Xander. He was...I told you it was complicated."

"I guess so," he conceded softly, looking anywhere but at her.

"Look, I'll handle it. Just go home, Xander. I—I have to go."

Buffy ran off before he could get another word in, although he was probably too shell shocked to think of anything else anyway.

At any rate, Xander didn't chase her.

~~~~~

Spike should've known the old watcher wouldn't have taken that particular bit of news so well.

By the way, Giles. Your Slayer may have a death wish. Or maybe she just likes having a vampire's deadly fangs in her neck. Or maybe, it's just mine that turn her on so much.

Bugger.

Before Spike could further contemplate how he had royally screwed things up with the Watcher, the Slayer burst through the door.

Ah, the Slayer. Always good for a distraction.

"Where's Giles?" she asked, looking around the apartment for her mentor.

"Scampered off, didn't he? Got a little bit of truth on him and couldn't handle it," Spike explained derisively, pouring a shot of whiskey at the kitchen counter, and then downing it quickly. "He was so screwed up in the head, he even left his door unlocked. And that's after, by the way, he groused bout us doing it. Soddin' hypocrite."

"Um, okay. Fine. We need to talk in private anyway," she said authoritatively, hands on her hips.

But in spite of her bold manner, Spike could detect a hint of nervousness about her.

"Bloody right, we do. What was that back there, Slayer?"

Buffy paused, her brow crinkling in confusion. Clearly his agreeing with her through her off a bit. That, and the fact that he had totally stolen her thunder.

"I...Hey! I'm the one who's supposed to be asking the questions! You bit me, Spike!"

"Yeah. And more importantly, you let me!" he accused, striding over to her.

"I—I was in shock. There was a lot going on, and your chip not working threw me for a loop, okay? I mean, hello! For the first time in almost a year, you were... semi dangerous again. That is, if you could even be considered dangerous before," she said darkly, not liking at all how he was accusing her of...she wasn't sure what.

"Watch your mouth, little girl. Cause I can..." Spike closed his eyes, shaking off his anger. He refused to let her goad him into an argument; there was something important that needed to be addressed right now. "Look, Buffy…that may be so. There was a lot to...cope with tonight. But what about a few weeks ago, huh? When we both thought my chip was out, you didn't even bother to fight me off then—not 'til my roaring headache, anyway. You were gonna let me bite you!"

Buffy's entire demeanor became defensive. She hated how this conversation was going all of a sudden. She felt inexplicably trapped, in a corner.

"There were things going on then too!"

"Yeah?"

"Yes! Important, mind-troubling things, and I just...I got distracted," she tried to explain, feeling defeated.

"Distracted, huh? When it comes to you living or dying, you really shouldn't be getting all that distracted, luv."

"Oh, right. Were you really gonna kill me, Spike?"

That silenced him. He looked away, taking a step back from her.

Buffy took a step closer to him, Harmony's words giving her courage.

"Were you, Spike? Either of those times, were you going to kill me?"

Spike ground his teeth, jaw clicking, and turned icy blue eyes back on her.

"That's not the point."

"Isn't it?"

"No, it isn't. The question is, did you believe I was capable of doing so? Did you think I was gonna hurt you?"

Buffy paused, her eyes still focused on him.

"No," she answered softly.

"What's going on here, Buffy?" His voice was equally as soft, as was his expression. He tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear tenderly, exposing his neat puncture wounds marring her neck.

Buffy's eyes became hooded at the intimate contact of his fingers lightly brushing her skin, then dancing over his bite marks, causing her to visibly shiver.

But just as quickly, she shook off the sensation, straightening. She couldn't get caught up in the rapture of his innocent, yet somehow sensual touches.

There was something that she needed to know.

"Are you in love with me?"