Torrid Immortality

Title: Tender Interlude

Authors: Amber Kupy and Daquiri Seffib

Email: amber_daquiri@hotmail.com

Rating: PG to NC-17 depending on chatper

Summery: Spike, Buffy and Dawn spend a quiet evening together.

Spoilers: Up until ‘Hells Bells’

Pairin: B/S

Disclaimer: We don't own the characters, we're just borrowing them.


========================================================================

Tender Interlude

He'd been out there for about fifteen minutes now. Buffy could hear him, pacing around on the porch. She wondered if he was waiting for an invitation, but since when had a lack of welcome stopped him? Neither of them ever waited for an invitations; they usually just barged right in. Sometimes they used excuses - her to pump him for information, while Spike liked the tried and true, but convenient 'burning up in the sun, ow the pain the pain' excuse.

Of course, the sun had been down for an hour or two now. She wondered if he was having trouble thinking up a new witty-yet-coolly-detached excuse. The footsteps paused outside the kitchen door. Buffy could hear mumbling, interspersed with a few, "Bugger me," and "Soddin' Bint". "The Poofter" followed by, "Bloody grand-sire" had Buffy muffling a snort behind her hand.

Buffy hung up the phone after noting the time. If the pizza guy wasn't here with her large veggie in thirty-five minutes she would have to go out and look for him. Going over to the door Buffy, decided to let Spike in before he wore a track in her porch with his continuous pacing.

No sooner had she opened the kitchen door, than Dawn miraculously appeared at her elbow.

"Spike!"

Spike smiled. It was a genuinely happy smile, but because it was Spike, it involved an unsettling amount of toothiness.

"Niblet," he said cordially, by way of greeting, as he entered the kitchen, Buffy scowled.

"Spike. What do you want?" There was none of the usual harshness in Buffy's tone.

He raised a sardonic eyebrow in her direction. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, luv. Came to see if you wanted to, um, patrol." Buffy hoped Dawn hadn't noticed leer that flashed across his face.

"Spike, I just ordered a pizza for Dawn and me. We were going to have a quiet night. In the house. Just Dawn and I. There will be no twisted knickers." Buffy abruptly shut up when she saw the confused look from her sister and the bemused one from her lov--from the vampire.

"Spike, I never see you any more. Why don't you come and hang with me?" Dawn asked, a whine subtly creeping into her request. "Have I done something wrong? I know you and Buffy don't get along all that well, but you were getting better. Why don't you like me any more?" There were tears threatening that Spike had no idea how to deal with.

"I, I still---Nib--It's not you, it's me. I still want to be with you, it's just that--" Spike broke off, unsure how to tell Dawn that, while he wanted to spend time with her, he was now sleeping with her sister and it was complicated. "I miss you, Lil' Bit. I miss breakin' and enterin' with you luv. I'm sorry I haven't been spending tim timth yth you of late."

Buff threw up her hands in disgust, seeing that she was clearly outnumbered, "Why don't you join us for dinner?" she asked, her tone indicating that she was clearly unhappy with the prospect.

"Thanks ever so," Spike pointedly ignored the ungraciousness of the offer, happy to spend any amount of time with 'his' girls.

- - - -

Buffy's groan filled the air, "I swear I am never eating five pieces of all dressing pizza again!" She paused to take a sip of Sprite. "And this time, dammit, I mean it!" She scowled at the TV and added, "And next time I get to pick the movies!"

"Cor sweetness, what's wrong with this flick? It's bloody brilliant!" Spike loved to hate the dark haired girl in it. It was irrational, but still there was something that drew him and repelled him at the same time.

"For the love of all that is holly and unholly, Dawn has made me watch 'Bring It On', like, a hundred times! This is the last time!" Buffy hated the movie, there was just something about the dark-haired girl and one of the blondes...

"Buffy's just jealous because she was never good enough to be a cheerleader once we moved to Sunnydale." Dawn was busy snagging another piece of pizza, so she missed Spike's groan.

"I am not jealous...!" Buffy exclaimed, diving for her sister, across Spike, who happened to be between them.

"She was a cheerleader when we lived in LA, you should have seen how she could do the splits," Dawn continued, dodging Buffy's grab. "I guess it helped her with the Slayer stuff." Spike shifted on the couch, trying to relive some of the discomfort of jeans, which were rapidly becoming too tight under the warm weight of his Slayer.

The Slayer was squirming enthusiastically across his lap, which didn't help any, trying to keep hold of a struggling Dawn. Dawn laughed, breaking free, leaving Spike with a lapful of off-balance Buffy. Spike tried to steady her, but she over-compensated and landed on him, hard. Both let out groans, for different yet amazingly similar reasons.

Dawn stood over them, hands on hips, laughing as she surveyed her handiwork. "You guys are so cute," she told them. At one point Dawn would have felt jealous, but now she just wanted her friend to be happy. "I mean, really, you guys look comfortable."

Buffy whipped around to face her sister, alarmed. "Cute? What? I was just... There will be no cute!" She attempted to jump up but found herself unable to leave the blond vampire's lap. Spike was still hand a hand around her waist, caressing her hip absentmindedly. "Quit that," she told him, trying to look severe. Spike was grinning at her.

"It's so nice that you're not mad at Spike any more, Buffy," Dawn continued brightly. "I was hoping you guys would make up." Dawn had noticed the covert looks and small touches between her sister and the vampire and wondered at them. Buffy and Spike were acting differently around each other, and both avoid mentioning the other at all costs when they were apart. "I'm going to make some popcorn before the next movie," she said. "Any requests while I'm in the kitchen?"

"Do you have any cocoa with the little marshmallows?" Spike asked. Buffy let out an unladylike snort and Dawn just smirked at him. Spike frowned in mock- offence. "I *like* marshmallows. They look like little lumps of marrow floating in my chocolate. Plus they're nice and squishy, like marrow."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Gross much? I don't know why I let you in my house. And Dawn, Spike and I didn't make ou--up, we had nothing to make up over. There was nothing, we're just friends."

Dawn nodded. "Friends," she repeated, clearly not believing a word. "Whatever, Buffy." With that the teenager made her escape to the kitchen.

In the kitchen Dawn made a lot of noise as she set about putting the popcorn in the microwave and putting milk in a sauce pan on the stove. Appliances on, doing their job she snuck back to peek into the living room.

Her sister was still on the blonde vampire's lap, though now she had her left arm around his neck, and her right hand was caressing his cheek softly. They were gazing into each other's eyes, with looks of tenderness and love. And that was the shocker. Dawn had expected to see love on Spike's face, but she saw it in Buffy too. Every movement was tender, loving. The kiss Dawn observed her slowly placing on Spike's lips was full of such sweetness.

Spike ran a hand through the Slayer's much shorter golden locks, "I'm sorry," she said. "It'll grow back to the way you liked it." The light dawned as Dawn realized that Buffy's sudden hatchet job had had something to do with the man whose lap she was sitting on. "I wasn't quite myself," Buffy told him, making a face. "After the Social Services woman threatened to take Dawn, and I was so confused about everything..."

"It's all right, luv. I like it," he leaned forward, his lips grazing Buffy's swanlike neck. "I can taste you better this way." With a mock growl, Spike bared his blunt teeth and pretended to attack Buffy's neck.

Dawn was shocked. They had threatened to take her away? Not to mention money worries. Add to the fact that her sister seemed to be having a secret relationship with another vampire. No wonder Buffy had been so distracted lately.

In the other room the microwave beeped, indicating that the popcorn was done. Reluctantly Dawn returned to the kitchen, pondering what she had seen and heard.

When she came out, however, Buffy and Spike were still entangled. Were they deaf? She thought throwing the sauce pan into the sink would have been enough noise to wake the dead, or in this case get the undead's mouth off her sister's neck.

It wasn't like she hadn't given them plenty of warning. She cleared her throat. "Um, guys, sorry to interrupt, but..." Vampire and Slayer sprang apart guiltily, Buffy blushing furiously. She had a hickey on her neck, above what Dawn realized were newly-healed bite marks. Well, well, that was interesting; she had never had those with Angel.

"Hi Dawnie, it's not what it--I was--Spike was just checking..." Buffy stammered then shot her co-kisser a pleading look.

"He was checking what Buffy? Your iron levels?" Dawn thought that if Spike could blush he would be bright red right now. As it was her sister was red enough for both of them.

"I was just helping your sis get something out of her, um, eye," Spike suggested, lamely.

"Spike, I expected more from you," chided Dawn. "Last I checked people's eyes weren't in the side of their necks. I can see the bite marks on her neck." Both Buffy and Spike exchanged guilty glances and looked blankly at the television which was playing an infomercial.

"Let's watch the other movie," Buffy suggested after an uncomfortable silence. Spike stood up, gently lifting Buffy and placing her on the couch. He figured that Buffy was too embarassed - at least, he hoped it was embarassment and not shame - to talk to her little sis. It was his fault they had gotten caught - Buffy had said she heard something, but he had brushed her protests aside.

"Give me the tray, Lunchable." Dawn handed Spike the antique wooden tray that carried three mugs of cocoa, with the little marshmallows, and a big bowl of chips. Spike turned around and set the tray on the coffee table then sat down next to Buffy.

"You're not a child any more, Nibblet, no matter how much your big sis and I wish it. What you saw, well, you saw--" Spike broke off, this was going to be harder then he thought. What was it with the Summers women that made him feel like the tongue-tied poet he had been before his turning?

Dawn broke in, smiling. This was too cute for words. "It's okay, Spike," she said. "You're sleeping with my sister. I guessed. You don't need to do the awkward explanation thing. Sex Ed has come a long way since you were human and all they said was close your eyes and think of England."

Spike ran his fingers through his hair. If he breathed, he would have sighed with relief. Buffy didn't look as though she felt any better. His heart sank. If Buffy couldn't face her sister with this then there was no hope, and he had been deluding himself.

"We're not sleeping together," she said, and with Buffy's words Spike's heart shattered, hope dying like a flower without water under the hot July sun. "That's such a shallow term for what we're doing," she continued. "It's not just about sex."

The words trickled through Spike's hazed mind. What had she just said? With sheer force of will Spike listened through a haze as his Slayer defended what they had together.

"Spike is more then just convenient, more than just my lover. He's my friend, my saviour. Besides you he was the only one I could talk to when I got back. He was the only one I could relate to. Now we've changed, we're more than just reluctant allies and grudging friends, we're together in every way." As Buffy spoke she realized she meant each and every one of those words, to the very depth of her soul They might fight, the might say they hated each other, but deep down, it had always come down to Spike in the end.

Dawn listened with growing delight. "I'm so happy for you guys!" she exclaimed, when Buffy was done. She threw herself at her surprised sister and the vampire, hugging them both.

Spike was completely stunned - he had no idea that Buffy had felt that way about him. They were going to have a long talk after Dawn went to bed. Holding 'his' girls tightly for one more moment, he released Dawn after brushing a cool kiss on her forehead. "Why don't you pop that other video in, Platelet?"

Dawn wandered over to the vcr and popped in 'Beauty and the Beast'. Once more Spike made himself comfortable on the couch, to his delighted surprise Buffy again curled herself up on his lap. Spike placed a tender kiss on the faded bite marks, "I love you Buffy, with everything that I am."

Buffy turned her head and captured his lips in a sort kiss. She took a deep breath and looked Spike directly into his clear, cerulean blue eyes, "And I love you too."

---