Old Friends
Old Friends
Part 22
Spike’s P.O.V.
~So… here we are… back home again. Home. Right. A crypt alone and I’m home. Funny, doesn’t feel so much like home anymore. Flop down on the bed. Remember last night a bit… Seein’ his face when he asked if I’d leave some things behind. Left him my duster… Took his. Absence makes the heart grow fonder… absence makes my Johnny grow longer… heh… Bloody awful poet… Loved tellin’ Slayer I was a poet… heh… Dru me Sire… HA! Yeah… I’m still evil. Grr. Smell Shaggy comin’ in upstairs… Go away, you! Let me ponce about in my psuedo-depression… like bein’ Peaches for a spell. Maybe try me hand at bein’ noble… Not good at this bit. Oh sod it all… who am I kiddin’? All I am’s horny… an’ I miss Angel. That’s it.~
“Luuuucy… I’m home.”
“Welcome home… now leave.”
“And hey… way to be hospitable. I’m proud of you… making vast progress in the warmth department, I see.”
“I’m a soddin’ Vampire… I don’t do warm.”
“Right you are! You’re sort of room temperature… if the room lacked central heat…”
“Is there a point to this torment, or ya jes’ come by to criticize my heat generatin’ abilities.”
“Oh I get it… you’re all depressed cause your boyfriend’s not here to make hot sweaty vampire monkey sex with you.”
“He’s not my bloody boyfriend.”
“Then what is he?”
~This little twerp is workin’ my last nerve!~
“Never mind that… What’s the problem, Shaggy? Why ya here? Some Baddie out there ya need me to stomp? If so… get to it. Haven’t got all night.”
“Moody Vampires… who knew? Anyway, Scooby meeting at Giles’.”
“When?”
“Now.”
“Right… lemme get me coat.”
~Shrug on Angel’s jacket.~
“Hey… nice threads… is that new?”
“Yeah.”
“Looks familiar… That’s Angel’s, huh?”
“Yeah… let’s go, right?”
~Walk through the cemetery… Shaggy babblin’ on about nothin’ in general. Wish Angel was here. Wish I was there… whatever. This back an’ forth rot’s wearin’ on me. Hate leavin’. Hate that look in his eyes when we say goodbye. Hate thinkin’ on him… alone in his room… waitin’ for me to get my arse in gear. Bein’ so good about this, too. Bugger! How to tell Slayer I’m movin’ off… An’ that I’ll be ridin’ Angel’s tower o’ power every soddin’ night. Good job Rupert never forced her to read up on us… Ta, mate. Would be a lot simpler if she already knew what we did. Wouldn’t hafta explain it all… Fuck!~
“…So Anya says ‘They’re my friends!’ and I say ‘And if we sit them next to Uncle Rory, he’ll be on the menu.’ …And she says ‘Are you saying my friends have no self-control?’ …And I say ‘Considering the fact that they’re Vengeance demons, I’m gonna go with yeah on that one.’ …And she says ‘We prefer the term Justice demon… Thank you for remembering… not like I should expect this to be any different from every other thing you forget…’ …And I’m like ‘what?! I remember everything!’ …And she’s all ‘Yeah? Like you remembered the anniversary of our first hug?! I brought you a slug candle to celebrate… and you brought me NOTHING!’ …Geez! Women! Can’t live with ’em… can’t live with ’em!”
“Yeah… ya got yerself in a right pickle there, didn’t ya?”
“I guess so.”
“It’s what ya get… birds… nothin’ but trouble.”
~We’re here… Thank the Gods… we’re here! Red standin’ in the doorway, holdin’ it open for us.~
“Spike… Hi! Where were you? I went by your house… er… crypt Saturday and Sunday, and you weren’t there…”
~Slayer looks at me questioningly. Doesn’t say anythin’… jes’ looks.~
“Oh… I was… around, you know.”
~Watcher knows… it’s why he’s clearin’ his throat.~
“Ahem… yes, well… Now that we’re all here…”
“Wait up G-man… We haven’t ordered the pepperoni pie yet!”
~Wonder if Anyanka remembered the newt eyes.~
“Oi! Don’t leave off the buffalo wings… Spicy… an’ ranch dressin’.”
~Watcher shoots me a look… what?~
“You know, Spike… you’re quite an odd Vampire.”
“Ta, luv.”
“Yes, well… Xander – go on and order the pizza, Willow, please help me in the kitchen with the refreshments?”
“Oh yeah… Sure… I’m on it… Just call me drink girl… or don’t… cause that kinda sounds like I need an AA intervention…”
“Willow… the beverages…”
~She grins… Little blonde witch gets up to follow her in the kitchen. Like her shadow, that one… Xander an’ his lovely bride-to-be are arguin’ over toppins an’ sizes… domestic bliss awaitin’ ya, Shaggy… This is only the beginin’… heh.~
“Tag! You’re it!”
~Niblet tryin’ to get me to chase her around… not bloody likely… last time we did that, we both got kicked outta Ruperts’ flat for a month… an’ how were we to know the bloody statue wasn’t securely placed on that shelf? Pull her down next to me, she snuggles in… Slayer next to her…Red hollerin’ to Little bit from the kitchen.~
“Be right back guys… don’t move… ’kay?”
“Okay…”
“Right…”
~Slayer nicks her seat… settlin’ in nice an’ close to me.~
“Hey! That’s my spot!”
“Finders keepers, Dawnie… ya snooze, ya lose!”
“No fair!”
~Ooh, little sis pulls out the winnin’ pout an’ puppy dog eyes… look at her go!~
“Fine… I’ll move when you get back.”
~That’s me Niblet! Go on, love… don’t let anyone tell ya manipulation isn’t a valid form of negotiatin’. She shuffles off to help the witches with God knows what… Slayer lookin’ up at me now.~
“Hey.”
“How ya doin’, love?”
“Okay, I guess… Still looking for a job… Trying to get used to all the changes around here.”
“Hang in there, pet. Gets better.”
“So you keep saying… and I keep waiting.”
~Offers me a half-hearted grin. Bugger.~
“Well, ya know… you’ve been through a lot. Gonna take some time gettin’ used to.”
“Was it hard for you?”
~Hmm… should be delicate about this… ~
“Nowhere near as hard as it must be for you, love. See… I went from a world of laws, discipline, responsibilities, inhibitions… self doubt… all that mortal rot… to a world of power… strength, cunning, recklessness… never havin’ to fear repercussions. So… it was all different for me.”
“Sounds like… freedom… liberating.”
“Yeah love… they got another word for that… Dead.”
~Clear eyes lookin’ up at me without shame…~
“It’s not bad to be dead.”
“Better to be alive, though pet. Trust me.”
“I do, you know.”
“You do what?”
“Trust you… I don’t know why… sometimes you’re the only one I can stand to be around.”
“All I am’s a reminder of where ya were, love.”
“You don’t think it might be more than that?”
~Fuck… know what she’s askin’… can’t do this… not to her…~
“No, Buffy… I don’t. Much as it pains me to say… much as I’d like it to be… It’s not. Same reason you an’ Angel couldn’t work out.”
“Yeah…” ~Looks me dead in the eye… Cor… she’s gorgeous~ “but you don’t have a soul to lose.”
“All the more reason for you to be mindful of what yer sayin’ an’ doin’ in regards to me, pet.”
~She’s movin’ her body away from me now… slinkin’ back against the lounge.~
“How are you capable of all this sweetness… this… this tenderness… and you’re a demon… it doesn’t make any sense.”
“Thought ya knew better, Slayer. World’s not black an’ white. All it is… well, jes’ shades o’ grey… that’s what.”
“So all this about you being the big bad… it’s all just talk?”
~Challengin’ me?~
“Oh, I am, love… an’ if I thought ya were in yer right state… I’d have given it to ya good when ya asked… but now… we do this… an’ all yer gonna do is hate me… don’t fancy that outcome.”
“What if I promised not to?”
~Don’t do this to me, Slayer… Don’t force my hand at this… don’t wanna do the right thing… Bugger!~
“Ya couldn’t help yerself… Told ya before… death is your art, Slayer. Right now, ya wanna sink into one o’ yer paintings… cause it’s a pretty picture… that’s all it is… not real. But ya think it can take you away from here… Open your eyes, love… Take a better look. You know exactly what I am.”
~Comes back to me… leans her head into my arm.~
“I think about you… you know… when I’m alone.”
“Bloody hell, girl! Don’t say things like that!!”
“Why not?”
“Cause I’m an effin’ Vampire, that’s why. Our instincts an’ urges are a damn sight more primal than mortals’… an’ it’s all I can do to keep from pullin’ you outside an’ bendin’ you over!”
“So why don’t you?”
“Same reason I don’t bite you!! God, woman!!”
~Soddin’ hell… she’s tearin’ up… pull her to me.~
“There, c’mere… shouldn’t have snapped at you, love. Shouldn’t have done that… Jes’ tryin’ to restrain me’self here… not always easy… jes’ like livin, eh?”
“I’m just really confused right now.”
“Know ya are… s’why I shoulda held me tongue… go on… clean yerself up before the others see.”
~She’s gettin’ up an’ rushin’ for the washroom. Damn. Try to do the right thing. Try to make things alright. What ya get for it? Squat, that’s what.~
“Spike… check this out… It’s called goo. Looks like snot, but it’s not… HAHAHA!”
~Shaggy holdin’ up a glob o’ green goop, slitherin’ through his fingers… ridiculous toy, if ya ask me.~
“Ya openly admittin’ yer a nimrod, or ya comin’ out special, jes’ for me?”
“Hey… with the insightful insults… What crawled in your bloodbag today?”
~Reckon I’m bein’ a bit testy… bloody hell.~
“Right… sorry.”
“William the Bloody apologizes to the Zeppo? Be still my beating heart!”
~I’ll still yer beatin’ heart… Kiddies… must remember they’re jes’ kiddies.~
“It was a passin’ phase… won’t happen again. So come on, then… lets see yer snot.”
“It’s not really snot…”
“Well, what’s it do?”
“Nothing… it’s just… gooey… a toy… apparently a stupid toy…”
“Hadn’t given that much consideration before ya bought it, did ya Shaggs?”
“Well, it was only a quarter… no big whoop.”
“Right.”
“So what’s with you, Fangless? You’re all morose and depressed… Deadboy rubbing off on you?”
~Oh… he’s rubbed off a few things on me, alright.~
“Ya really wanna know the answer to that?”
~Lift an eyebrow at him. Heh. I’ll tell ya all about it… in graphic detail, if ya like.~
“Ohhh… not looking for the blow by blow description… and hey… that came out way more kinky than it sounded in my head.”
“Yer old noodle’s givin’ ya open innuendos again, innit?”
“Guess so. So… wanna talk?”
~No I don’t bloody well wanna talk. Jes’ wanna get outta this place, an’ call Angel. Night’s goin’ to hell in a handbasket, innit.~
“Nah… I’m alright.”
~Watcher walkin’ in with the witches an’ lil bit trailin’ behind. Passin’ out cups o’ whatever the kiddies drink, an’ a nice warm cuppa O-neg for me. Gonna miss these brats. Good timin’… pizza’s here. Shaggy an’ Anyanka arguin’ over the tip. Lovely beginin’ to a stellar night o’ research. Everyone takin’ their seats around the lounge. Watcher standin’… ~
“Thank you all for coming. I’ve got some news to share with you that I needed all of you in attendance for.”
~Oh… bloody hell… don’t tell me yer goin’ back… Not now… ~
“What is it G-man?”
“I would appreciate it if you’d refrain from calling me that, Xander. I’ve asked you on numerous occasions… really.”
“Whoa… serious face. Got it… Zipping the mouth of the Zeppo.”
~Makin’ a zippin’ motion over his lips… wonder if he’ll ever grow up.~
“Right… so I’ve gathered you all here today…”
“To witness the joining of Spike and Buffy in unholy matrimony…”
~All of us shoot a look at Shaggy… ~
“Sorry… shutting up now.”
“Thank you, Xander, and if I might… I’ll continue… Perhaps it’s best to tell you this first… I’ve reached a decision in regards to my residing in Sunnydale.”
~Dead quiet. Could hear a pin drop.~
“Well???”
“Oh, right… yes… I’m staying.”
~God, what a relief! Clamorin’ of kiddies jumpin’ up an’ huggin’ him.~
“Thank you… thank you all. I’ve realized my place is here, assisting Buffy in her duties, and of course, all of you. It was with a heavy heart that I had considered leaving in the first place… but that’s not all… As they say, good news softens the blow… so naturally, there’s a negative to this.”
~Watcher turns to me… Bugger… what ya about to do, Wanker?~
“Spike, over the years, you’ve become an integral part of our group… for that, I thank you. I appreciate your assistance in research, and I’m sure I speak for Buffy when I say we appreciate your backing in the never-ending fight. What you did for Dawn was commendable, and we all owe you a debt of gratitude. You’ve changed a great deal… and might I add, for the better.”
“Uhm… are we doing the group hug with Spike now?”
“Xander, will you please be quiet?”
“Shutting up now.”
“Thank you. Continuing on… Spike had approached me in regards to my leaving – in his usual style, he pointed out that my decision to leave was rash, and a lapse in judgment. A knee jerk reaction, if you will. And he was correct. Having said that, I’d like to point out that he’s paid his debt to us all – and we will continue the fight without him.”
“WHAT?”
~Slayer, relax, love!~
“Ehh… erm… allow me to explain. There’s a great deal I haven’t taught all of you about the ways of Vampires. However, I’ll leave that for another day. Spike is leaving us. He’ll be moving. He’ll be missed.”
~Bloody hell. All eyes on me now, ta mate… Thought ya were lettin’ me off the hook, did ya? Well take a look around… I’m swingin’ on it.~
“Yeah… well, ya see… I’m only gonna be two hours away… if ya need me, ya know I’m here in a snap.”
“Why?! What’s two hours away? Why do you need to leave?!”
“Buffy… we’ll chat on it later, alright? Private like.”
“Buffy… if you would… please… we all realize you and Dawn have suffered some terrible traumas over the past few years… and Spike has been here for you… well, not always… but when needed, he was there. We mustn’t be selfish – we must allow him to…”
“I’m not listening anymore… I’m leaving… come on, Dawn… let’s go home, I’m tired.”
“Wait up, Slayer… I’ll walk ya.”
“You don’t need to… really… I’m fine on my own. Super power girl… yay me.”
“Niblet, ya wait in here a mo’ whilst I take Sis out for a chat, yeah?”
~Little Bit… noddin’ her head at me. Follow Slayer out the door.~
“You should have told me you were leaving. I shouldn’t have heard it from Giles.”
“I was plannin’ on it… didn’t expect Rupert to make the big announcement without consultin’ me on it first.”
“You still should have told me.”
“You’re right, Buffy. I shoulda said. Didn’t know how, I reckon. Wanted to be there for ya… Till you were strong enough on yer own.”
“I can’t believe you’re leaving me to deal with all this shit on my own!”
“Oi! Listen to the mouth on ya!”
“Like you haven’t said worse!”
“I have, I admit it. No consequence, really. Not why we’re out here, is it?”
“No.”
“Look at me, Buffy… If you ever need me… I’ll be here. No questions. I’m here. If ya ever need to let it all out on someone, ya call me, an’ I’m here. Never ask ya for a thing in return. But I am leavin’…”
“Where are you going?”
“Los Angeles.”
“Angel’s there.”
“Yeah… he is.”
“Aren’t you afraid he’ll get all wigged over this?”
“Nah… we settled up a few things. Everythin’s alright on that front.”
“Don’t go…”
~Bloody hell… she’s cryin’… oh fuck. Pull her in me arms… hold her tight.~
“Shh… shh…”
~Shaggy comin’ out with Niblet… Bugger… need more time. He puts his hand on her back… strokin’ her with me.~
“It’s okay Buff… We’re all here for you. I know the whole Spike and Angel together thing is probably hard for you to swallow right now…”
~Oh. You. Moron!!!!!~
“WHAT?!!”
“Okay… and that reaction would probably mean that Spike didn’t get to that part yet… and that would mean that I, once again… with the mouth… running wayyyy faster than the brain…”
“YOU and ANGEL?!”
~Bloody hell! My nose! Oi! Didn’t see that right hook comin’… Fuck! Right… this could be good… let her rough me up, she’ll get it all out… right as rain… ~
“That’s it, pet… put it on me… put it all on me! That’s me girl!”
“I hate you!!! The cell phones!! I didn’t dial the wrong number, did I?! I hate you!!”
~Oi! Forget how hard the little bird can hit.~
“That’s it, love… go on… give it t’me…”
“Buffy! Calm down… come on… Xandman… remember me… I’m the one that put the foot in the mouth… It’s not his fault.”
“YOU KNEW!!”
“Slayer… focus on me, pet… come on, then.”
~Drops her fists an’ stares at me… accusin’ eyes…~
“You saying no wasn’t about me at all… was it? WAS IT?!”
“’Course it was, love… Had nothin’ to do with Angel.”
“You’re LYING!”
“I’m not… I swear, I’m not!”
“Whoa! You were gonna give it up for Fangless?”
“Shut up, Xander!”
“Once again with the foot mouth thing.”
“I’m outta here… Whatever… go be with Angel… I hate you both… Come on, Dawnie… let’s go home…”
~Oh fuck… fuck fuck fuck. She’s sobbin’ an’ walkin’ away… Little Bit turnin’ an’ givin’ me a small wave. Bugger… shouldn’t have gone down like this. Turn to the whelp.~
“You. Are. An. Effin’. Imbecile.”
“I’m sorry, Spike.”
“Yeah… ya really are sorry, mate.”
“I don’t know what to say…”
“Reckon you bloody well said enough, didn’t ya?”
~Phone’s ringin’… must be Angel. Turn an’ walk off… don’t even wait to hear what Brain-Fart’s got to say…~
“Angelus.”
“What’s wrong, Will?”
“An’ how ya know somethin’s wrong, then?”
“You just called me Angelus.”
“Yeah… reckon I did.”
“You need something, William?”
~My voice is all choked up.~
“Jes’ you… bloody hell… jes’ you.”
“I’m right here… talk to me.”
“Everythin’ went tits up, love… Slayer knows… an’ she’s crushed over the whole cocked up mess.”
“I thought we agreed we’d tell her together.”
“Yeah… well… didn’t turn out that way… Miss you… never wished you were here so bloody much as right now.”
“Where are you?”
“On my way back to the crypt. If it wasn’t so late… I’d take the motor-bike an’ come see ya right now.”
“It’s alright, Will. I’m always with you. You know that.”
“Yeah… well, enough o’ this depressin’ shit about me. How ya doin’, Ducks?”
“I’ll be better when I know you’re home.”
“Frettin’ over me, are ya love?”
“Always.”
“S’alright… was doin’ the same over you earlier.”
“Oh? Do tell…”
“Nothin’ much. Jes’ thinkin’ on how good yer bein’ over this. How yer there… in yer room… waitin’ on me to tie my loose ends.”
~He’s softly laughin’… wish he was here.~
“Well, yeah… I did a bit of that this evening.”
“Imagine ya did. So how was the drive home? Ya hit much traffic?”
“The drive was… the drive. Nothing memorable to talk about, anyway.”
“I’m at the crypt now.”
“So go inside…”
“Reception’s better out here.”
“Go on in, Will. You don’t need to stand out there. We can deal with the static.”
~Whatever ya want, love. Pushin’ the door open.~
“Fine, don’t say I didn’t waraahngel?! Bloody hell!!”
~There he is… jes’ sittin’ there… holdin’ the phone an’ smilin’ at me… love you, pet… oh God… how’d ya know? MOVE LEGS! Standin’ here like a nonce! Love you so bloody much!~
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