New Chapter for Just A Fling. Yeah!
Thank you, thank you to all of you for the feedback, and I am so sorry for not returning your reply. I was naughty. Very naughty…How about a spanking? ; )
Just A Fling
Chapter 14
Tourismo
“Well, pet, what do you say if we play at some tourismo?” As he was talking, Spike came out of his room putting on his t-shirt.
‘Did he say something to me?’ Buffy’s eyes feasted on Spike’s chest. She had to think hard to remember what he just asked. She would think she would get over drooling over his body, but she didn’t. Oh, well. “Tourismo?”
“Yeah, pet. We’ll play at being tourists for the night.” He savored her drooling over his body; it made him want to take off his pants, rip off her clothes, and throw her down on the sofa. The idea was oh so tempting.
Buffy wrung her hands, obviously displaying her indecision. “But we need to continue the search. ‘Member. Badies trying to kill me…”
“To the devil with duty tonight. You’re in London, on a whole different continent, for bloody sake. I bet you can’t remember the last time you took a night off, can you, luv?”
Buffy melted at the saucy wink he sent her way, and she reluctantly shook her head at the same time a corner of her mouth started to turn up. She hadn’t had a vacation recently, and here she was in one of the most famous cities in the world. Why was she wasting this opportunity to be guided around by a native? “So what do you suggest, bleach brain?”
Pleased at her acquiescence, Spike smiled. “A variety, pet. Get ready. You’ve got ten minutes.” He made shooing motions at her.
Buffy looked out the window. “But it’s still too light outside. You can’t…”
“No worries, luv. One of the advantages of dear ole England.” Spike shrugged into his trench coat. “Some days the clouds block the sun enough for us night dwellers to walk about. So hup to, Slayer.”
*****
Spike knew that luck was with him. Well, at least in one aspect. They made it to the Tower of London just in time for the last tour.
“This is just so…I mean…it’s a castle!” Buffy’s eyes were the size of saucers.
That’s when his luck became a double edged sword. On one edge, she was clearly enraptured with the tour, but on the other edge, the time was bittersweet. She didn’t know it, but this would be their last night together. Tonight was the night he was going to tell her about the chip no longer functioning. But he was weak. He knew he had to tell her, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t have a long goodbye.
On Buffy’s part, she was having a blast, trying to take in everything at once. “Hey, at home a building is considered old if it’s two hundred years old or maybe three hundred years old. Here, old is double or triple that. The White Tower was built in the eleventh century. That’s ten something, isn’t it?” Buffy, the great avoider of school, was entranced by the history contained in the Tower of London’s walls.
She was dragging her hands along the building as they followed the tour guide. “Look at these stone and bricks. They were made like forever back. I mean nine hundred years ago.” Up in a small room where prisoners were held before their beheading, the unfortunates carved their initials in the wall and mantel. The thought of people so long past leaving their last mark on the world fascinated her. “Come look, Spike come over here.” She spontaneously grasped Spike’s hand, pulling him over for closer inspection. “Look! Some of these were etched in the 1500s. I can’t even imagine being around that long ago.”
Spike never saw the initials. All he saw was her petite hand clasping his own. Such an incredibly small gesture touched him more than he wanted it to. Her warmth traveled up his arm to his heart. But the most incredible part was yet to come. When they left the small room, Buffy didn’t let go of his hand. She held it in the courtyard where beheadings had once taken place. He laughed when her only question was what kind of axe was used.
Then with a bright smile on her face, still keeping her hold on his hand, she pulled him into the chapel; they stood there with graves beneath their feet. Buffy turned up her nose. “It’s so freaky walking on all these people.”
Spike turned her so they were face to face. “Is this the slayer who patrols cemeteries?”
“Oh…yeah.” Her smile never faltered, and she never let go of his hand despite her awe and enthusiasm upon gazing on the crown jewels, guaranteed to dazzle anyone. “That is the largest top-quality, cut diamond.” Buffy listened to the guards talk about it. “Man, I could pitch it like a baseball.”
But the best was yet to come. “Oh, God…Oh, it’s…gorgeous.” In the white tower, Buffy tried to take in all the armor and weapons at once.
Spike had expected her to feel this way, but his bonus was the way she wrapped her free hand around his upper arm, bringing her side flush against his, her warmth chasing away his perpetual cold. He was going to miss more of these changes. They were making their relationship public, bringing them closer as he might have wanted. Bloody hell, he was going to miss out on more. But he wasn’t going to think about that now. Instead he would focus only on enjoying her company that night. Then he would say good-bye.
Grabbing Spike’s hand hadn’t been planned. She hadn’t meant to, but she had. Once she had hold, she didn’t seem to be able to let go. Well, that’s not quite right. She could have if she had really made an effort, but she didn’t. She found that she didn’t want to. So after that initial grasp, she just flowed with her instincts, forgetting all about the slayer/vampire angle and concentrating on the lover angle. She knew it deepened their relationship, but oh, well. Besides, holding his hand just felt good, especially when she pulled herself against his side.
After the tower, Spike took her to an authentic bistro for some fish and chips. Buffy enjoyed every minute of it even though she wasn’t particularly fond of fish.
He was being so nice to her. Treating her like a good friend. Then there was the musical he dragged her to --- “Cats”. She had dragged her feet, saying that she had no interest in people running around singing, but he sweet talked her into a seat. He had said that they were closing the musical soon, and he wanted her to experience it. She left the theatre ready to buy a cat and was singing, “Memories, all alone in the moonlight…”
She wondered if this would be how he would treat a girlfriend, except for the psycho hose beast, of course. Much too tame for the black-haired bitch. A girlfriend?! Her?! What was she thinking? She guessed that he would agree that they were friends now, she told herself, especially since they had held hands some, but definitely not boyfriend/girlfriend. No. No way. But why was her heart beating so fast?
Now they were on to their last destination for the night. They stepped out of the tube station’s stairs and into an explosion of people, lights and sounds. Piccadilly Circus.
All Buffy could do was try to absorb all around her. After all she had seen today, she was going into overload. Taking his hand again, she stepped forward a few feet with him. “Wow. I mean…wow!”
Smiling, Spike watched her spin in circles, trying to take it all in. Spike found himself laughing. “Glad you like it, pet. I always did.”
“Me no like.” She turned and grinned at him. “Me love.” She dragged him in and out of the stores, especially loving Virgin Records.
As she watched others passed the shops and saw the fascinating-looking people, Buffy listened to Spike guiding her absently. “Spike, you can fit in with her with all the bleached hair and leather,” she teased.
Spike squeezed her hand. “They’ve got good taste, don’t they, luv?”
“Humph. I don’t even want to know what all you ate here.” Buffy laughed as they entered a small shop. “I need some souvenirs.”
*****
Watching her happy wandering though the tourist trap, Spike dreaded putting his plan into effect. “Pet, you know how to get back to the inn, don’t you?”
“Sure. Just go to Sloane Station,” Buffy absently answered his question while going through some key chains.
Spike strained to keep his voice light. “And the money. You know that it’s in my room, right, luv?”
Buffy waved a hand dismissing the twenty questions routine. “I know. I know.” She held up a shirt for him to examine. “Do you think Willow would like this t-shirt?”
A teddy bear dressed as a bobby, a police officer, made Spike smile. “No, more like Xander’s style.”
Swatting at him, Buffy put the shirt up. Then she let Spike drag her out of the store and on until they passed a small, dark alley that Spike dragged Buffy down. He had to make the break, or he wouldn’t be able to. He just couldn’t go on without telling her about the chip. He wasn’t sure why, but he thought she deserved to know.
Completely confused, Buffy gaped at the vampire. “What…?”
Grabbing both her upper arms, he placed Buffy on the curb of one side of the alley and walked over to stand on the other curb.
Buffy was bewildered. “Spike, what are you doing? I’ve already seen my share of dark alleys. In fact, I met you in one.”
Running his hand over his face, Spike tried to remember what he had rehearsed to say. “Things have gotten complicated, pet.” He held up his hands to stop her from commenting. “Everything from enjoying being with you on this trip to enjoying the sex all too much…” Spike paused, hoping to collect himself. “It was hard for me to watch you leave me to sleep alone last night. It was hard for me to leave you the night before.” He almost walked to her but caught himself.
“You mean you would rather spend the night together?” Buffy was pleasantly surprised. What a great bit of information! He had felt as she had. Actually it was a relief to bring that desire out into the open.
Spike shook his head in frustration. “No…Yes!...Yes, I would, but no, that’s not where I am going with this.”
“Well, I’m coming over to you.” She put one foot down off the curb.
Spike held up his hand again to keep her on the other sidewalk. “What I mean was…was…bloody hell, my chip doesn’t work anymore.” Spike watched as Buffy retrieve her foot off the street.
Buffy was so incredibly shocked, she had no idea what to say.
“See, luv, the shocks at Frankie’s must have knocked it out.” Agitated, he stared to pace. “I always thought that when I had my fangs back, I would go back trying to kill you and you me. Natural order of things and all that rot.”
“More importantly, to me at least, is that I’ve discovered that I don’t want to kill you. Even without our truce, I don’t want you dead. I know that your hard and fast rule is that if the chip stopped working, you would stake me, which means I would have to fight you. Well, that’s the rub. I’m not going to fight you. And just FYI, I didn’t kill anyone of those wankers that night you were knocked out. Don’t get me wrong, I thought about it but didn’t. The point is if all this means I am a coward, so be it. Regardless, I’m going to run. Good luck, Slayer. It’s been the memory of a lifetime, several lifetimes.”
With one last look into her hazel eyes, trying to gauge her reaction but seeing only confusion, trying to memorize all of her in a split second, he ran as fast as the demon in him could go. He had to get away before he did something stupid like beg her to not stake him, let him stay in her bed. Not for the sex, but to be with her. Pain radiated through out his whole body as he threw himself into the crowd. He hadn’t guessed just how hard it would be to leave her behind. His hand felt numb with out hers holding it. He ran and dodged until he came out another side of Piccadilly Circus and off into the night.
TBC
A/N: Man, I did try so hard to make this story PW1/2P, but the plot just kept developing on its own. It truly has a mind of its own. Hope you enjoy the more coming.
Thanks so much for the prodding. It really worked. Feed me!
Dana
Just A Fling
Chapter 14
Tourismo
“Well, pet, what do you say if we play at some tourismo?” As he was talking, Spike came out of his room putting on his t-shirt.
‘Did he say something to me?’ Buffy’s eyes feasted on Spike’s chest. She had to think hard to remember what he just asked. She would think she would get over drooling over his body, but she didn’t. Oh, well. “Tourismo?”
“Yeah, pet. We’ll play at being tourists for the night.” He savored her drooling over his body; it made him want to take off his pants, rip off her clothes, and throw her down on the sofa. The idea was oh so tempting.
Buffy wrung her hands, obviously displaying her indecision. “But we need to continue the search. ‘Member. Badies trying to kill me…”
“To the devil with duty tonight. You’re in London, on a whole different continent, for bloody sake. I bet you can’t remember the last time you took a night off, can you, luv?”
Buffy melted at the saucy wink he sent her way, and she reluctantly shook her head at the same time a corner of her mouth started to turn up. She hadn’t had a vacation recently, and here she was in one of the most famous cities in the world. Why was she wasting this opportunity to be guided around by a native? “So what do you suggest, bleach brain?”
Pleased at her acquiescence, Spike smiled. “A variety, pet. Get ready. You’ve got ten minutes.” He made shooing motions at her.
Buffy looked out the window. “But it’s still too light outside. You can’t…”
“No worries, luv. One of the advantages of dear ole England.” Spike shrugged into his trench coat. “Some days the clouds block the sun enough for us night dwellers to walk about. So hup to, Slayer.”
*****
Spike knew that luck was with him. Well, at least in one aspect. They made it to the Tower of London just in time for the last tour.
“This is just so…I mean…it’s a castle!” Buffy’s eyes were the size of saucers.
That’s when his luck became a double edged sword. On one edge, she was clearly enraptured with the tour, but on the other edge, the time was bittersweet. She didn’t know it, but this would be their last night together. Tonight was the night he was going to tell her about the chip no longer functioning. But he was weak. He knew he had to tell her, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t have a long goodbye.
On Buffy’s part, she was having a blast, trying to take in everything at once. “Hey, at home a building is considered old if it’s two hundred years old or maybe three hundred years old. Here, old is double or triple that. The White Tower was built in the eleventh century. That’s ten something, isn’t it?” Buffy, the great avoider of school, was entranced by the history contained in the Tower of London’s walls.
She was dragging her hands along the building as they followed the tour guide. “Look at these stone and bricks. They were made like forever back. I mean nine hundred years ago.” Up in a small room where prisoners were held before their beheading, the unfortunates carved their initials in the wall and mantel. The thought of people so long past leaving their last mark on the world fascinated her. “Come look, Spike come over here.” She spontaneously grasped Spike’s hand, pulling him over for closer inspection. “Look! Some of these were etched in the 1500s. I can’t even imagine being around that long ago.”
Spike never saw the initials. All he saw was her petite hand clasping his own. Such an incredibly small gesture touched him more than he wanted it to. Her warmth traveled up his arm to his heart. But the most incredible part was yet to come. When they left the small room, Buffy didn’t let go of his hand. She held it in the courtyard where beheadings had once taken place. He laughed when her only question was what kind of axe was used.
Then with a bright smile on her face, still keeping her hold on his hand, she pulled him into the chapel; they stood there with graves beneath their feet. Buffy turned up her nose. “It’s so freaky walking on all these people.”
Spike turned her so they were face to face. “Is this the slayer who patrols cemeteries?”
“Oh…yeah.” Her smile never faltered, and she never let go of his hand despite her awe and enthusiasm upon gazing on the crown jewels, guaranteed to dazzle anyone. “That is the largest top-quality, cut diamond.” Buffy listened to the guards talk about it. “Man, I could pitch it like a baseball.”
But the best was yet to come. “Oh, God…Oh, it’s…gorgeous.” In the white tower, Buffy tried to take in all the armor and weapons at once.
Spike had expected her to feel this way, but his bonus was the way she wrapped her free hand around his upper arm, bringing her side flush against his, her warmth chasing away his perpetual cold. He was going to miss more of these changes. They were making their relationship public, bringing them closer as he might have wanted. Bloody hell, he was going to miss out on more. But he wasn’t going to think about that now. Instead he would focus only on enjoying her company that night. Then he would say good-bye.
Grabbing Spike’s hand hadn’t been planned. She hadn’t meant to, but she had. Once she had hold, she didn’t seem to be able to let go. Well, that’s not quite right. She could have if she had really made an effort, but she didn’t. She found that she didn’t want to. So after that initial grasp, she just flowed with her instincts, forgetting all about the slayer/vampire angle and concentrating on the lover angle. She knew it deepened their relationship, but oh, well. Besides, holding his hand just felt good, especially when she pulled herself against his side.
After the tower, Spike took her to an authentic bistro for some fish and chips. Buffy enjoyed every minute of it even though she wasn’t particularly fond of fish.
He was being so nice to her. Treating her like a good friend. Then there was the musical he dragged her to --- “Cats”. She had dragged her feet, saying that she had no interest in people running around singing, but he sweet talked her into a seat. He had said that they were closing the musical soon, and he wanted her to experience it. She left the theatre ready to buy a cat and was singing, “Memories, all alone in the moonlight…”
She wondered if this would be how he would treat a girlfriend, except for the psycho hose beast, of course. Much too tame for the black-haired bitch. A girlfriend?! Her?! What was she thinking? She guessed that he would agree that they were friends now, she told herself, especially since they had held hands some, but definitely not boyfriend/girlfriend. No. No way. But why was her heart beating so fast?
Now they were on to their last destination for the night. They stepped out of the tube station’s stairs and into an explosion of people, lights and sounds. Piccadilly Circus.
All Buffy could do was try to absorb all around her. After all she had seen today, she was going into overload. Taking his hand again, she stepped forward a few feet with him. “Wow. I mean…wow!”
Smiling, Spike watched her spin in circles, trying to take it all in. Spike found himself laughing. “Glad you like it, pet. I always did.”
“Me no like.” She turned and grinned at him. “Me love.” She dragged him in and out of the stores, especially loving Virgin Records.
As she watched others passed the shops and saw the fascinating-looking people, Buffy listened to Spike guiding her absently. “Spike, you can fit in with her with all the bleached hair and leather,” she teased.
Spike squeezed her hand. “They’ve got good taste, don’t they, luv?”
“Humph. I don’t even want to know what all you ate here.” Buffy laughed as they entered a small shop. “I need some souvenirs.”
*****
Watching her happy wandering though the tourist trap, Spike dreaded putting his plan into effect. “Pet, you know how to get back to the inn, don’t you?”
“Sure. Just go to Sloane Station,” Buffy absently answered his question while going through some key chains.
Spike strained to keep his voice light. “And the money. You know that it’s in my room, right, luv?”
Buffy waved a hand dismissing the twenty questions routine. “I know. I know.” She held up a shirt for him to examine. “Do you think Willow would like this t-shirt?”
A teddy bear dressed as a bobby, a police officer, made Spike smile. “No, more like Xander’s style.”
Swatting at him, Buffy put the shirt up. Then she let Spike drag her out of the store and on until they passed a small, dark alley that Spike dragged Buffy down. He had to make the break, or he wouldn’t be able to. He just couldn’t go on without telling her about the chip. He wasn’t sure why, but he thought she deserved to know.
Completely confused, Buffy gaped at the vampire. “What…?”
Grabbing both her upper arms, he placed Buffy on the curb of one side of the alley and walked over to stand on the other curb.
Buffy was bewildered. “Spike, what are you doing? I’ve already seen my share of dark alleys. In fact, I met you in one.”
Running his hand over his face, Spike tried to remember what he had rehearsed to say. “Things have gotten complicated, pet.” He held up his hands to stop her from commenting. “Everything from enjoying being with you on this trip to enjoying the sex all too much…” Spike paused, hoping to collect himself. “It was hard for me to watch you leave me to sleep alone last night. It was hard for me to leave you the night before.” He almost walked to her but caught himself.
“You mean you would rather spend the night together?” Buffy was pleasantly surprised. What a great bit of information! He had felt as she had. Actually it was a relief to bring that desire out into the open.
Spike shook his head in frustration. “No…Yes!...Yes, I would, but no, that’s not where I am going with this.”
“Well, I’m coming over to you.” She put one foot down off the curb.
Spike held up his hand again to keep her on the other sidewalk. “What I mean was…was…bloody hell, my chip doesn’t work anymore.” Spike watched as Buffy retrieve her foot off the street.
Buffy was so incredibly shocked, she had no idea what to say.
“See, luv, the shocks at Frankie’s must have knocked it out.” Agitated, he stared to pace. “I always thought that when I had my fangs back, I would go back trying to kill you and you me. Natural order of things and all that rot.”
“More importantly, to me at least, is that I’ve discovered that I don’t want to kill you. Even without our truce, I don’t want you dead. I know that your hard and fast rule is that if the chip stopped working, you would stake me, which means I would have to fight you. Well, that’s the rub. I’m not going to fight you. And just FYI, I didn’t kill anyone of those wankers that night you were knocked out. Don’t get me wrong, I thought about it but didn’t. The point is if all this means I am a coward, so be it. Regardless, I’m going to run. Good luck, Slayer. It’s been the memory of a lifetime, several lifetimes.”
With one last look into her hazel eyes, trying to gauge her reaction but seeing only confusion, trying to memorize all of her in a split second, he ran as fast as the demon in him could go. He had to get away before he did something stupid like beg her to not stake him, let him stay in her bed. Not for the sex, but to be with her. Pain radiated through out his whole body as he threw himself into the crowd. He hadn’t guessed just how hard it would be to leave her behind. His hand felt numb with out hers holding it. He ran and dodged until he came out another side of Piccadilly Circus and off into the night.
TBC
A/N: Man, I did try so hard to make this story PW1/2P, but the plot just kept developing on its own. It truly has a mind of its own. Hope you enjoy the more coming.
Thanks so much for the prodding. It really worked. Feed me!
Dana