Roomies

“Dru?” William choked, his contented thoughts banished in an instant, “You-You-You-I-Um” He stopped his babbling when she placed her hand on his chest.

“I’m just curious.” She told him with a giggle, he chuckled, relief flowing through him. “I still want to know though.” She added seriously, all pretence of playfulness gone as she rounded on him, “So?”

“Well, She, Erm, Can we save this for another day?” He half-pleaded. How on earth do you explain about your psychopathic ex fiancée, and how she ran off with your father?

“Please?” She added, “I promise not be jealous if she was your girlfriend.” He bit back a bitter laugh.

“She was.” He confirmed, “A little bit than a girlfriend.”pauspaused, gauging her reactions, “I thought I loved her.” Seeing her unchanging expression he ploughed on, feeling that it was better to get it all out into the open before anything else happened. “We were engaged, briefly, but it didn’t work out. She met my- someone else.”
“Your someone else?” Buffy enquired softly, her mind reeling from the information but not yet comprehending enough to make a decision about how she felt. He sighed, he had hoped she wouldn’t pick up on his slight error, but it was too late to unsay it.
“She, well, oh bugger it. She ran off with my dad.” He stared at her unblinkingly, she wanted to know and now she did. It wasn’t like he still hated the pair of them with the same fiery vengeance as he did all that time ago, but it was far from his favourite topic of conversation. Seeing that Buffy was as tongue-tied as when he told her what her little sister had attempted, he found himself taking pity on her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and hugging her to him. “S’not like it doesn’t hurt.” He found himself saying, “But I don’t want your sympathy. S’not why I told you.”
“I know.” She whispered, “And I’m not all that sorry, because if she still had you then I wouldn’t.” She forced a smile, the memories of Faith and her father all too painful in her own mind, “It’s not all bad, my dad did a similar thing and I manage to not hate him when I see him.”
“I dunno if I hate him.” Spike told her seriously, “Hate is a waste of energy for someone I haven’t seen in years.”
“Years?” She pushed upwards, catching his eye, “How old were you?”
“Sixteen.” He smiled, “Stupid and in lust, a deadly combination.” He smirked, obviously lost in memories. Not wanting to jolt him out of them; Buffy sank back down against his chest, lulling herself with the rhythmic beat of heart.
“So, what about your dad?” He asked suddenly. She opened an eye, trying to determine what he wanted to hear. She had already told him what had happened, albeit the extremely brief version.
“Not much to say.” She mumbled.
“Of course there is.” He assured her. “I told you, it’s your turn to share.”
“My best friend and I had fallen out, she had beaten me in the Cal-State finals and I hated her for it. My dad went round to her house to try and sort things out between us and he never came back.”
“What happened?” Spike couldn’t help but ask.
“Her mom had just had a boob job and my dad obviously fell in love with them.”
“And you don’t hate him?” Spike asked, incredulous.
“Well, it was some consolation when he ripped her off for every penny she had.” Buffy told him with a smile. “But then he did it to every woman after that it lost the humour. And when I turn twenty-one I stand to inherit a good portion of it ‘cause he set up this fund thing when I was little, entitling me to a quarter of his earnings for the next 25 years.”
Whistling in appreciation, Spike hugged her close.
“And that’s what the whole thing with that wanker was?”
“What?”
“That Riley bloke?”
“Oh! Him. Yeah, he knew somehow, I found a list in his room when I was there, my name was on the top of it.”
“Cheeky bugger.” Spike retorted, amazed at how someone could have the tenacity to make a list of the richest girls on campus to date and to actually go through with it.
“It’s ok. I figured out who I wanna be with and right now I’m happy.” She stopped and looked up at him. “Right after I kill Dawn of course!”
“I thought you weren’t mad at her?” Spike questioned, he felt bad for the girl, she had known she couldn’t have him and had gotten desperate and it was all his fault, if he hadn’t gone alone, if Buffy had gotten to speak to her first, if he had explained better, if- His guilt trip was derailed by Buffy interrupting;
“I’m not. But I’ve warned her enough times not to touch my things!” She joked.
“That’s right,” He told her, satisfied. “I’m yours now, for as long as you’re mine.”
“How does forever suit you?” She asked with a huge grin.
“Suit-” Spike was cut off by the shrill sound of the phone. Answering it quickly so no one else would be disturbed, Buffysperspered hello into the mouthpiece only to be met with choking sobs and incessant wailing from her best friend.
“Will?” She asked cautiously,
“He cheated on me!” Came the wail that Spike heard from his position on the other side of the bed.
“He did what?” Buffy demanded, but the wailing and sobbing had taken over Willow, leaving her unable to tell Buffy anything. Making arrangements for Willow to come round straight away, Buffy replaced the receiver and turned to Spike apologetically,
“Would you mind sleeping downstairs for tonight?”