No Hero
folder
AtS/BtVS Crossovers › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
17
Views:
3,416
Reviews:
26
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
AtS/BtVS Crossovers › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
17
Views:
3,416
Reviews:
26
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) or Angel, the Series (AtS); nor any of the characters from them. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Beautiful Minds
Author's Notes: I found out recently that a dear friend has terminal cancer, and that's damaged my muse a bit, so bear with me and my pitiful chapters, okay?
Thank you to Stacy from Bloodshedverse for archiving my humble little story, and to Megan for recommending me.
LOL. Marzbar. The Eater is nasty, but it won't interfere with the smut TOO much.
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Beautiful Minds
The decision to keep Fred out of the loop had been one of the most difficult Spike had ever been forced to make, and as he watched the dark-haired woman skirt back and forth between several of her beloved machines in an attempt to calibrate something-or-other, he regretted it more than ever.
Why the Eater didn’t strike now, the vampire knew not, but he was silently grateful for the momentary peace. It was the calm before the storm, and he was well aware of it, but like any calm, it was welcome. He caught Buffy’s glance and held it, offering a secretive smile when she looked equally confused by Fred’s brilliance.
“…and if the spectrum of this equation explains both the velocity and longevity of Angel’s deteriorated mental state, I might be able to figure out what happened to him in the first place. Did that make sense?” the bright young woman asked with a cheerful smile.
“Um… Angel’s brain short-circuited after the battle and your machine thingy might be able to tell us how it happened and why he’s better now?” Buffy ventured.
“Right!” Fred exclaimed animatedly. “Spike, don’t poke at that!”
The vampire in question held up his hands, his eyes filled with false innocence. “I was just wonderin’ what the little spinnin’ thing was for.”
“Do you have any idea what might have caused this or why it affected Angel?” the slayer asked, restraining Spike’s hands to prevent him from accidentally damaging something in the lab.
Glancing around apprehensively to make certain Angel was nowhere around, the brunette nodded. “When I first got back from Chico, Willow and I had a talk about it, and she said that she thinks the mystical reason it affected Angel was because… because his soul was forced on him, it left him open to whatever happened… maybe a surge of trans-dimensional energy.”
“Because his soul was forced on him?” Buffy wondered aloud.
“Willow compared it to… history repeating itself. It’s like when women get involved with one abusive man after the next.” Fred didn’t notice when Spike visibly deflated at her words, and she carried on, “Spike wasn’t vulnerable to it because he fought for his soul. He’s… the true champion.”
At the sadness in Fred’s voice, Spike protested, “Hey! I’m no hero. I just let the fire come, like I said.”
“You saved the world.”
“And you saved me from Pavayne,” she insisted. “You are a hero.”
“So are you, ducks,” the vampire said wistfully.
Sensing that spending more time in the woman’s presence would only make the inevitable more difficult for Spike, Buffy glanced at her watch and cursed softly. “Spike, we have to go. Willow said she needed us to be there for her spell, remember?”
Catching on, the vampire nodded gratefully. “You wanna come, Fred?” he inquired, knowing that she would never leave her work.
“No, you go on. I’ll let you know if I find any physical causes for what happened that night.”
“Thanks, Fred,” Buffy said sincerely as she ushered Spike from the lab. Once they were out of the woman’s line of sight, the slayer visibly deflated. “I’m really sorry…”
“Not your fault, luv. It’s just the way it is.”
“But you’ve known her for a long time, Spike. You don’t have to act like it’s not upsetting you when I know that –”
“What the soddin’ Hell do you want me to do, slayer? Should I go drink myself into oblivion? That’s not gonna help Fred, now is it?”
Buffy was astonished by how much he had changed over the years. The Spike she’d known, even after he’d gotten his soul, would have immediately lost himself in bourbon rather than trying to handle the pain in a more constructive manner, just as she had once resorted to withdrawing and refusing help. They had both matured considerably. “No,” she said finally, “that won’t help Fred. I don’t know that anything will.”
“Buffy!” Willow greeted, racing to meet the bleached pair. “I talked to Fred, and I’ve been doing some reading. Giles and I think we’ve figured out why… you know affected Angel instead of Spike!”
“Peaches’ soul was forced on him; I’m the true champion, yadda, yadda, yadda.”
“Oh,” the witch mumbled, disappointed that she had not been the one to explain it. “Essentially, yeah. W-when someone is cursed, it leaves them more open to mystical forces because of the power needed to influence their make-up,” she elaborated.
“You explained it to Fred in a strange way. Smart thinking, Will,” the slayer said warmly.
“That’s one beautiful mind you got there, Red. Really is.” The vampire gave a bitter smile, for he had lost track of how many times he had said that very thing to Fred. He had saved the world, that was true, but he was unable to save a woman who had risked her life to help him a thousand times. His mind, he thought, was not so beautiful.
Thank you to Stacy from Bloodshedverse for archiving my humble little story, and to Megan for recommending me.
LOL. Marzbar. The Eater is nasty, but it won't interfere with the smut TOO much.
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Beautiful Minds
The decision to keep Fred out of the loop had been one of the most difficult Spike had ever been forced to make, and as he watched the dark-haired woman skirt back and forth between several of her beloved machines in an attempt to calibrate something-or-other, he regretted it more than ever.
Why the Eater didn’t strike now, the vampire knew not, but he was silently grateful for the momentary peace. It was the calm before the storm, and he was well aware of it, but like any calm, it was welcome. He caught Buffy’s glance and held it, offering a secretive smile when she looked equally confused by Fred’s brilliance.
“…and if the spectrum of this equation explains both the velocity and longevity of Angel’s deteriorated mental state, I might be able to figure out what happened to him in the first place. Did that make sense?” the bright young woman asked with a cheerful smile.
“Um… Angel’s brain short-circuited after the battle and your machine thingy might be able to tell us how it happened and why he’s better now?” Buffy ventured.
“Right!” Fred exclaimed animatedly. “Spike, don’t poke at that!”
The vampire in question held up his hands, his eyes filled with false innocence. “I was just wonderin’ what the little spinnin’ thing was for.”
“Do you have any idea what might have caused this or why it affected Angel?” the slayer asked, restraining Spike’s hands to prevent him from accidentally damaging something in the lab.
Glancing around apprehensively to make certain Angel was nowhere around, the brunette nodded. “When I first got back from Chico, Willow and I had a talk about it, and she said that she thinks the mystical reason it affected Angel was because… because his soul was forced on him, it left him open to whatever happened… maybe a surge of trans-dimensional energy.”
“Because his soul was forced on him?” Buffy wondered aloud.
“Willow compared it to… history repeating itself. It’s like when women get involved with one abusive man after the next.” Fred didn’t notice when Spike visibly deflated at her words, and she carried on, “Spike wasn’t vulnerable to it because he fought for his soul. He’s… the true champion.”
At the sadness in Fred’s voice, Spike protested, “Hey! I’m no hero. I just let the fire come, like I said.”
“You saved the world.”
“And you saved me from Pavayne,” she insisted. “You are a hero.”
“So are you, ducks,” the vampire said wistfully.
Sensing that spending more time in the woman’s presence would only make the inevitable more difficult for Spike, Buffy glanced at her watch and cursed softly. “Spike, we have to go. Willow said she needed us to be there for her spell, remember?”
Catching on, the vampire nodded gratefully. “You wanna come, Fred?” he inquired, knowing that she would never leave her work.
“No, you go on. I’ll let you know if I find any physical causes for what happened that night.”
“Thanks, Fred,” Buffy said sincerely as she ushered Spike from the lab. Once they were out of the woman’s line of sight, the slayer visibly deflated. “I’m really sorry…”
“Not your fault, luv. It’s just the way it is.”
“But you’ve known her for a long time, Spike. You don’t have to act like it’s not upsetting you when I know that –”
“What the soddin’ Hell do you want me to do, slayer? Should I go drink myself into oblivion? That’s not gonna help Fred, now is it?”
Buffy was astonished by how much he had changed over the years. The Spike she’d known, even after he’d gotten his soul, would have immediately lost himself in bourbon rather than trying to handle the pain in a more constructive manner, just as she had once resorted to withdrawing and refusing help. They had both matured considerably. “No,” she said finally, “that won’t help Fred. I don’t know that anything will.”
“Buffy!” Willow greeted, racing to meet the bleached pair. “I talked to Fred, and I’ve been doing some reading. Giles and I think we’ve figured out why… you know affected Angel instead of Spike!”
“Peaches’ soul was forced on him; I’m the true champion, yadda, yadda, yadda.”
“Oh,” the witch mumbled, disappointed that she had not been the one to explain it. “Essentially, yeah. W-when someone is cursed, it leaves them more open to mystical forces because of the power needed to influence their make-up,” she elaborated.
“You explained it to Fred in a strange way. Smart thinking, Will,” the slayer said warmly.
“That’s one beautiful mind you got there, Red. Really is.” The vampire gave a bitter smile, for he had lost track of how many times he had said that very thing to Fred. He had saved the world, that was true, but he was unable to save a woman who had risked her life to help him a thousand times. His mind, he thought, was not so beautiful.