The Games People Play

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Fox. No copyright infringement is intended and is used here solely for entertainment purposes.

A/N: Originally, this was a very short B/S one-shot titled Awakening. Those who know me well know that I'd find a way to turn it into Aus/B/S ;o)

Dedication: To Wicked Insanity for letting me pick her brain and bounce ideas off of her.


Prologue: Awakening


Sex, blood, death…images of carnal desire gone too far. A solution, that perhaps, he’d regret for an eternity. The bleached blond vampire tossed and turned amidst the silken sheets as the cold body of the woman he loved lay silently beside him.

*****

The shrill screech of a cricket’s call penetrated the inky void in which she floated. Senses extended, and the constant hum of a street lamp several blocks away soon followed. Intense. Loud. Agonizing. The erratic cacophony of predawn noise filled her head. Age-old instinct kicked in and the disparate sounds became instantly muted. The newly made being shifted closer to the naked male next to her and drifted into a deeper dream filled sleep.

The previous night’s activities replayed themselves in an endless stream of color, tone and feeling. She crossed the threshold into the candle-lit interior of Spike’s lair seeking the excruciating pleasure-pain that, at least for a little while, extinguished the numbness cloaking her badly bruised soul. He greeted her with a smirk and an easily forgotten barb before she pushed him roughly against the stone wall and shredded the fabric of his black shirt with claw-like nails, leaving deep trenches in the smooth, alabaster skin. The demon snarled as droplets of blood trickled from his wounds creating slim, crimson tracks down his abdomen.

Suddenly, he pivoted and slammed his denim-covered erection against her. She moaned, wrapping leather-clad legs around his waist; mouth blindly seeking his in wild abandon. A harsh grunt escaped when he clutched her closer and franticly made his way to the dim recesses below. They tumbled towards the floor, material shed from bodies flush with passion. Skin to skin. Hard and soft. Slapping. Sucking. Writhing. A sensual tangle of limbs and torsos advancing towards that final rush of blood-pumping ecstasy. Finally, caught in a moment of bliss and forgetfulness, two sharply, elongated incisors pierced yielding flesh. Seconds ticked by. A beating heart slowly ceased to function. The haze of desire dissolved as a very human expression of horror appeared on the vampire’s visage and the slayer smiled, fading into blessed oblivion.

*****

Jagged pangs in the pit of her belly brought Buffy, yet again, to semi-wakefulness. Languidly, she stretched a bent leg and arched her back extending muscles that, much to her surprise, sent a pleasant tingling throughout her body. The ache inside receded somewhat bringing other sensations clearly into focus. As before, sounds were more pronounced but under her control and no longer painful. A multitude of odors engulfed her. Moist earth. Stagnant water under a once leaking pipe. Lichen clinging to a far wall. She sniffed, wrinkling her nose. And yes, overpowering it all, Spike’s own unique scent. Stale tobacco. Alcohol. Blood. Sex. Her stomach rumbled as hazel eyes leely ely fluttered open.

She turned her head slightly, her gaze resting on her sleeping sire. Her creator but never her master. That decided, she reached over with one deceptively small hand and affectionately ruffled his curling hair. Luxurious sheets caressed cool skin as she gracefully rose from their bed. She found her clothes flung haphazardly around the room and pulled them on. Glancing back over her shoulder at Spike, she quietly promised to return.

A different sort of creature emerged from the depths than that which had entered. Lighter. Happier. No restrictions or duties. Free. She twirled around the upper level in glee. A surge of raw power, unlike any she had felt before, propelled her actions. Abruptly, she halted all movement. The twinges had grown into unrestrained bloodlust and she vowed to appease the gnawing hunger. The world’s first slayer-vampire strolled out the dingy crypt door, eyes drawn to the burning orb hung in a clear blue sky. A chill smile parted ruby lips; the hunt had begun…