Title:  Pillow Talk

Author:  Miss Murchison

Rating:  PG so far.  That will change.

Disclaimer:  All characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc.  Only the lame plots and dialogue herein are mine.

Notes:  A Spuffy story that starts in early Season 6 before deviating from canon.  In the last chapter, we saw Xander choose a different spell from the one that led to the canonical events of "Once More With Feeling."  Here, we begin to see the consequences.

Thanks: To Keswindhover and revdorothyl for the beta.

The story begins here.

Chapter 10

            "So," said Lulu, her eyes goggling, "you're the Slayer?"

            Buffy nodded, wondering if Lulu was all that intrigued, or if goggling was her natural state, eye-wise.  She watched as the female demon's huge yellow eyes widened even further and some sort of expression crossed her grey, wrinkled countenance.

            "Yeah."  Clem leaned towards Lulu and said in a stage whisper, "But she doesn't know anything about Tracy and Hepburn.  She'd probably confuse Pat and Mike with Adam's Rib."

            "I could do with some ribs."  Dawn, who was sitting on Buffy's other side, prodded Spike with her foot.  "Hey, vamp buddy!  How about a soda and snacks run?"

            Spike withdrew his attention from the black and white flickers on his small TV and turned to peer up at Dawn from his position on the floor. 

            Buffy had been surprised to find Dawn partying with some demons in Spike's crypt, although she was slowly coming to realize she shouldn't have been.  The clues had been there.  Like Dawn mentioning movie nights with unnamed friends, and little things lying around the crypt that said a Summers teen had been spending time there.  Buffy should have known that however weird Spike might be, he wasn't likely to spend his days reading YM or Teen People.  And although there was no reason to raise an eyebrow at some eyeliner, she'd never caught him wearing glitter-grape eye shadow or bubblegum-flavored lip gloss.

            She wondered if she should be mad at Dawn for hanging out here, or at Spike for letting her.  But when Buffy thought of a few dozen other kinds of trouble Dawn could be getting into, she had a hard time working up a good angry at a night of romantic comedy and empty calories.

            Spike had been surprised to see Buffy, but he'd played the gracious host, offering her his spot on the couch and letting Clem keep the ratty old recliner.  She hadn't been fooled.  He'd chosen to sit where he could slowly insinuate himself into a position that made it almost natural for him to lean against her leg. 

            And she'd chosen to let him.

            But now he was standing up, and the spot on her calf where her flesh had slowly warmed against the curve of his back felt bereft. 

            Dawn poked her.  "Buffy?  Are you coming?  It's an ice cream run!"

            "It's a blood and smokes run, but you can come for the ride, Bit," said Spike, looking at Buffy as he reached for a crumpled pile of leather.  "Want to chaperone, Slayer?"  He tugged on his duster and stood waiting.

            Stupid vamp.  I bet he thinks he looks cool and enigmatic.  He just looks needy.  And hot.  But mostly needy.  His eyebrow quirked upwards, and his head tilted to one side so that the glow from the lopsided table lamp caught his sharp cheekbones and the lapis glow of his eyes.  Well, neediness is there in the mix, anyway.

            Buffy shrank into herself, sitting cross-legged with her arms around her torso.  Going anywhere with someone who looked like that but was not kissable material due to evilness was of the Bad. 

            But there would be ice cream. 

            "We can bring something back for you."  Dawn's voice was impatient.

            "Okay."  Buffy brightened at this compromise.  Spike didn't look quite so pleased, but he held the door open for Dawn and followed her out into the cemetery.  Buffy tried hard not to listen to the thud of their footsteps as they made their way to his ratty old car.

            This was of the Good.  Buffy had avoided closeness with the evil vampire.  And she'd done so in spite of the lure of ice cream.

            On the other hand, she'd let her baby sister go off riding in a car with the evil vampire and no seat belts.  Not so good.  Besides, if she'd gone along, she could have put in a good word for cheesecake.  Strawberry cheesecake was sounding very, very good right now.

            And she was now sitting in a crypt with two demons who were heavily into old movies and caramel corn.  Neither good nor bad, but surely stupid.

            Besides, Buffy didn't like caramel corn.  And she was afraid to even comment on the movie, in which Katherine Hepburn seemed to be playing a lot of sports and trying to appease her boyfriend who was obviously a total dork.  Why couldn't this woman see that he was only keeping her down and making her insecure?

            Gathering courage, Buffy voiced her objections, and Lulu's eyes swiveled towards her.  "He's just the fiancé.  There's always a fiancé, and he never gets the girl."  She didn't add, Everyone knows that, but she might as well have.

            "Spencer Tracy gets the girl," said Clem in the voice of someone who is kind to idiots and people cursed with unwrinkled skin.

            Buffy eyed Spencer.  "He's not very tall," she objected.  She shrank further into herself as Clem and Lulu turned to stare at her pityingly.

            "Want some of these new Slim Jims?"  Asked Clem at last, obviously searching for some common ground upon which to converse with a Slayer.  "They've got peanut butter inside."

            "Peanut butter?"

            "It's a new thing."  Lulu reached down and picked up a bag.  "Like these wasabi-flavored pork rinds, or those new Stilton marshmallows. They're test marketing them in Sunnydale."

            "They test market a lot of stuff here," said Clem.  "It's a little-known fact that over 20 percent of snack food nationwide is consumed by demons.  So if a new product can make it here, it can make it anywhere."

            Buffy thought about this statement long enough to decide it wasn't Slayer business and she could stop thinking about it.   It was no part of her Sacred Mission to protect junk food, no matter what was consuming it.  (However, it did finally explain to her satisfaction the existence of Marshmallow Peeps.)  She stared at the TV. 

            By the time Spike and Dawn returned, she was enjoying the scene where Katherine Hepburn beat up the sleazy guys who wanted Spencer to fix a game, but she was also getting almost hungry enough to ask if there was any caramel corn left.

            Dawn dropped down on the couch next to Buffy and handed her half a Dove Bar.

            "Someone's been eating this," objected Buffy.

            "It started melting in the car."  Dawn stuck her hand back out. "If you don't want it, I'll finish it."

            "No, that's okay."  To Dawn's obvious disappointment, Buffy scarfed down what was left of the ice cream bar, while Lulu and Clem exclaimed over the arrival of cheese puffs. 

            Dawn had been made out of her, after all.  She shouldn't have to worry about cooties. They must share the same germs too.  Besides, mmm, dark chocolate over vanilla. 

            "But I only got half."  Buffy wanted to clap her hand over her mouth as she heard her whiny tone, but stopped as she saw what Spike was holding.  "Is that strawberry cheesecake?"

Chapter 11
 

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