End of Days

Title:

Title: End of Days

Chapter: Chapter Seventeen – The Date (part two)

Author: Queen Akasha

Rating: NC17 in some chapters



Summary: B/S. Season Seven. Buffy and Spike are leaving on their date. Shopping is involved. (Yay!) Hope Spikey brought his Visa.

Disclaimer: When I told Joss about my ideas for a tv show, he said "Spike? What the hell kind of name is that for a vampire? Vampires aren’t real anyhow, y’know!" Since Joss was so blatantly rude about things, I think I should own everything – don’t you?

Spoilers: This is my fictional season seven. Anything up to the end of S6 is fair game. I’m Alternate Universe from about "Normal Again."

Distribution: Sure! Let me know and I’ll even send you updates!!



"Oh, God, Spike," Buffy gasped. "Is that our ride?" When he nodded, smiling, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "It’s so cool!"

"I know," he said. "Shall we go?"

Buffy gazed out the door at the six heavily muscled military looking men wearing only pleated skirts and starched head dresses, standing beside what looked like a fancily painted wooden box with plush curtains and pillows. It reminded her of the movie "Cleopatra" that she had watched with her mom once when they both had the flu.

"Ancient Egyptians, mostly royalty, used this form of transportation," Spike explained. "I wanted you to get a taste of Egypt. This night we’re going entirely native."

Buffy smiled. "Were you here then? When Egypt was ancient?" she teased.

"Hey," Spike said, affronted. "I’m not THAT old, you know. Just cause I know some history."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Buffy rolled her eyes, grabbing her purse.

Spike smiled and gently touched the small of her back, guiding her into their carriage. When they were both settled, the men lifted the vehicle by posts on either side. The ride was surprisingly smooth as the bearers carried them towards the center of the city. Buffy and Spike let the curtains remain open, and drank in the romance of the exotic and ancient place.

The sights and the smells of the city were like nothing Buffy had ever experienced. Rich lived side by side with poor. A huge modern office building might neighbor on a small tin shack. As they were carried deeper and deeper into the older parts of Cairo, they attracted a small following of children. Buffy felt like the Pied Piper. One of the bearers spoke sharply, and the children dropped away.

"Spike," Buffy asked, "is it OK for me to give the kids something?"

Spike nodded and asked the bearers to stop for a minute. Buffy opened her purse and pulled out a hand full of bills. Spike cocked his eyebrow at her. "Somebody gave me some money," she said, "and we still have to talk about that." He shrugged and looked away. "It was nothing, pet," he said quietly. "Oh, yes it was," she replied, "and we do have to talk about it. But not right now."

She climbed out of the carriage and passed out bills to the children. They hooted in excitement, and then politely bowed. Buffy, charmed, bowed back, causing the children to howl with laughter. Buffy laughed with them. Spike sat back and watched her, his golden goddess, frolicking with the street children of Cairo, and he silently thanked whichever deity was responsible for backsliding vampires for his good fortune.

Buffy got back into the carriage, waving at the children, who waved and bowed back to her. The bearers lifted them and continued on their way to the heart of ancient Cairo.

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Ten minutes later, they arrived at their first destination – a shop on a deserted street. "Spike, they’re closed," Buffy observed.

"Not for us, pet," jumping down from the carriage and speaking to the bearers, who seemed to "stand down" but still looked at attention.

Spike gave her his hand and assisted her to exit, a courtly gesture that seemed strangely fitting with his persona. He gently guided her to the door with pressure on the small of her back. He rapped softly on the door, calling, "Mona, we’re here." When there was no answer, he tried a little louder. "Mona, pet, open up."

The door creaked open and Buffy beheld a small dark wizened figure of a woman, wrinkled and bent. When the woman saw Spike, she exclaimed in excitement and reached up to hug him around the neck. Spike smiled indulgently and picked her up, swinging her around in a circle before setting on her feet again. He leaned down and gave her a resounding kiss on the cheek. "Mona, luv, you look beautiful," he said.

"William," the little lady replied in accented English, "You have been away too long. You look too delicious. And who is your friend?" She tilted her head towards Buffy.

"Mona," Spike said, "may I present my girlfriend, Buffy Summers. Buffy, this is an old friend of mine, Mona." His eyes gleamed with pride at this first introduction of Buffy as his girlfriend.

Buffy held out her hand, and the old woman took it, but instead of shaking it, she turned Buffy’s hand palm up and traced the lines. "A very broken life line, yet it continues," she said. Buffy nodded, fascinated. Mona’s large, dark liquid eyes seemed to bore into her soul. "You have been searching for true love," Mona stated. Buffy just nodded again. Spike stood to the side, watching with interest. Mona took both of Buffy’s hands in hers and spoke. "Sometimes," she whispered, "one will search far afield, when the flower they most desire grows in their own yard. Those are the luckiest ones. Do you understand me, girl?"

Buffy looked up at Spike, smiling protectively over her. "I understand," she whispered back. "And I am very lucky."

Mona smiled approvingly at Buffy and enveloped her in a hug, surprisingly strong considering her age. She smelled deliciously like exotic spices. "Then, please come in," she invited, "and we will see what we will see." Buffy glanced at Spike. He smiled at her. "Love, go ahead in with Mona. I just have one errand to run and I’ll be back to pick you up. Will you be OK?"

"Just fine," she said, smiling at Mona. "We’ll have girl talk about, oh, something or someone we have in common."

"Bloody hell!" Spike groaned. "What have I gotten myself into here?"

 
 
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Half an hour later, Buffy waited in high excitement for Spike to return. Mona, it turned out, had been an exotic dancer in her youth, and she outfitted Buffy in one of her more tasteful costumes. Buffy was slightly reluctant at first, but Mona said it was Spike’s express wish. Getting all dressed up as a belly dancer turned out to be way more fun than Buffy would have thought. She was wearing black, sheer puffy pantaloons and a midriff baring black sheer top with short, capped sleeves, banded in gold. She felt like a slutty Barbara Eden in "I Dream of Jeannie", but she also felt sexy as hell. Mona hung several gold chains around her waist, and placed another in her hair, hung so that an exotic amber coloured stone was exactly in the middle of her forehead. Mona added gold chains around Buffy’s neck and large gold hoop earrings. She then painted Buffy’s hands and feet with henna, making patterns that seemed both exotic and slightly scary. A little black kohl around her eyes made them seem huge and bright. Mona had exclaimed over Buffy’s golden hair, brushing it until it fell in a bright wave onto her shoulders. Mona added some small braids here and there for variety, fastening the ends with little golden beads. When Buffy turned her head, the beads made a gentle clinking sound, reminding her of wind chimes. Buffy felt like a whole different person.

When she had been outfitted, Mona offered her tea and the two sat chatting. Mona didn’t seem to want to talk about Spike, out of loyalty Buffy assumed, but she did draw Buffy out on the more salient points of her life. By the time Spike returned, Mona knew as much about Buffy’s love life as Willow did.

"Well," Buffy heard Spike say behind her, "she certainly does justice to your old outfit, Mona. I remember when you wore that – not many women could pull it off." Mona beamed.

Buffy turned around to look at Spike. He was wearing a long, cotton robe that just skimmed the tops of his sandals. The earth toned stripes of the robe made the blue of his eyes really stand out. He was wearing a white turban knotted about his head, with the tail end hanging down over his shoulders. If it hadn’t been for his porcelain complexion, he would have looked like any one of the people on the street that Buffy had seen.

"Buffy, love," he breathed, taking her hand. "You are a vision. Do you like it?"

She nodded. "Yes, Spike. Thank you. Mona’s great, and I feel so, so, free and alive and, well," she whispered, "sexy."

"That you are, pet." He added, "Too sexy to be seen on the street. What do you have to cover her up, Mona?"

Mona appeared with a shapeless floor length black dress that she helped Buffy put on over her clothes, and a veil. Spike put the veil on her, wrapping it around her forehead and face so that her eyes, exotically kohled, were the only things visible. She looked in Mona’s mirror, and was surprised to not recognize herself. She was a different person. Mona handed her tiny gold sandals to complete the look.

"Well, Mona, thank you, my dear," Spike was saying. "We’ve got more places to go tonight, so we’d best be off. No, I insist," he said, as Mona tried to return the money Spike pressed into her hand. "It’s a gift then, luv."

Mona hugged first Spike and then Buffy. She whispered in Buffy’s ear, "I’ve known him all my life, and I’ve never seen him so much in love."

Buffy smiled joyously and whispered back, "I’ve known me all my life, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so much in love, either." The two women grinned at their shared conspiracy, not knowing that Spikes vampiric hearing had registered the entire conversation. He felt as if he would burst with happiness.

"Yes, Mona, if you’d just return Buffy’s things to her motel. This is the address ………" Buffy tuned out Spike’s final good-byes to Mona. He looked so handsome and exotic that she wanted to jump his bones on the spot. He caught her eye, then, and winked. She could almost believe that he knew what she was thinking. She felt a wave of love coming from him, so strong it was almost breathtaking. "Where are we going now, Spike?" she asked.

"Somewhere I think you’ll enjoy, Slayer," Spike replied, shepherding her out the door and into the waiting carriage.

 
 
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TBC

 
 
A/N
Well. Where to now? Spike has some interesting friends, doesn’t he? Mona seemed nice. Bet she could show Buffy a move or two. Well, their night has just begun. They’re going someplace somewhat, well, unexpected next. But Buffy’s not a normal girl. And Spike is far from a normal guy. Whaddaya think? Monster trucks? Have to wait and see.

>)