Heroes and Lovers
by als
Chapter 5 — Along Came a Spider
[reviews]
The wind whispered to her gently, telling her that those little tin soldiers were following her. They thought they'd sneak up on her, but the wind and the stars told her they were coming. Just like they told her about her poor boy, her William, and what that nasty, nasty Slayer did to him.
"She'll pay for that my darling boy," she whispered into the cool night, "The Slayer and all her little pets...we'll see to that won't we."
She slid through graveyard, gliding like a silky shadow. The darkness sang to her, sang of death and blood and other fun things for good little girls. She could hear the ashes and dust calling for her, begging for her to come. "Don't worry my beautiful Spike, mummy's coming."
She paused for a moment tilting her head and listening to the stars talking, telling her where the little boys with all their toys were. She laughed wickedly and spoke as she put on her game face, "Naughty little boys shouldn't be sneaking around after the sun goes down."
The grass called out to her, warning her that one of the soldiers was moving up behind her. She moved faster than the human could follow, seeming to vanish from sight only to reappear behind her stalker. She grabbed the soldier ferociously, breaking his neck loudly as she sank her fangs into him and drank deeply.
The shadows screamed out a warning, and she spun to her left letting go of the first body in time to let it absorb the blast from a Taser rifle. She moved again, hiding in the darkness before she spoke. "Poor little soldiers," she called out in a lilting voice. "All dressed up to play, but can't find their ball."
She prowled through the shadows like a lioness on the hunt. As quiet as death she crept up on her prey, striking out and opening an artery in the soldier's throat with her claw-like fingernails; she grinned evilly as the spurt of blood splattered her hand and face. She slowly licked some of the blood off her hand, enjoying the taste as he gurgled softly and fell to ground, desperately trying to stop the blood flowing down his neck.
"Sad little soldiers taste sweet like fear," she called out mocking them as she slipped away again. She was still and quiet as one of the commandos moved past her, just out of arm's reach, never noticing her.
He found his fallen comrade, already unconscious from the massive blood loss and cursed softly. He quickly knelt down, laying his weapon aside. He put pressure on the wound with one hand and reached for his radio with the other. She took the opportunity and pounced, catching him unarmed and unaware as she wrapped her arms around him and plunged her fangs into his throat.
A few moments later she dropped his drained corpse and stood up. Turning away, she slipped gracefully to the door of a nearby crypt and spoke, "I'm here my Spike, mummy's home to make it all better."
* * * * *
'This feels a little more awkward than I remember,' thought Willow as she and Buffy walked back to their dorm. They'd hardly spoken since they left Giles' apartment and she was getting at little frustrated with the silence. Willow wasn't completely sure why everything suddenly felt strained, but she had a pretty good idea. It was the kiss that didn't quite happen at Giles'.
Willow couldn't help but smile as she thought about it. She had been dreaming about kissing Buffy for years now, and earlier she'd seen that dream nearly come true. They'd been so close, but the moment had passed them by, interrupted by Giles. And now, that moment was hanging between them and making things uncomfortable.
'Is this how things are going to be between us?' she wondered pensively. 'Are we going to spend the rest of our lives avoiding the subject and pretending that there's nothing between us?'
She looked over at Buffy. The Slayer's face wore a thoughtful expression; her eyes seemed to mirror many of Willow's own fears and doubts. She turned away, wondering whether it was the fact that they had almost kissed or that they didn't that was bothering Buffy.
They continued on in silence until they reached the privacy of their shared dorm room. When it quickly became apparent that the change of scenery wasn't going to put an end to the uncomfortable silence, Willow made up her mind. She loved Buffy. She always had and she hoped that Buffy felt the same. Even if she didn't, though, it was time to get everything out in the open. Life was too short for uncomfortable silences.
Willow sat on the edge of her bed and looked at Buffy. "Buffy?"
"Willow, I..." Buffy's voice was uncertain and nervous.
"We need to talk Buffy." Willow kept her voice calm and reassuring.
Buffy sat down on her own bed, across from Willow. "I know and I have something that I need to tell you. Something that I should've said a long time ago, but the timing was just never right. I'm still not sure if the time is right but I nearly lost you," her voice cracked and Willow could see tears welling up in Buffy's eyes, "and I'm so scared that what I want to say will take you away from me forever..."
Willow stood up and quickly moved next to Buffy, wrapping her arms around the petite Slayer. "You didn't lose me though Buffy, I'm here. There's nothing you can say, nothing that will ever take me away from you."
Buffy shifted to look at Willow. Willow could still see the fear and doubt in the Slayer's eyes, but as she watched they faded away and were replaced by desire and hope. 'God, I love you so much,' she thought as she reached over and gently stroked Buffy's cheek.
The beautiful blonde caught Willow's hand in her own, pressing it tightly against her face, as she closed her eyes and savored the touch. She opened her mouth as though to speak but no sounds came out. Willow watched for a moment, and as Buffy closed her mouth again and swallowed hard, the redhead leaned forward boldly, taking matters into her own hands and gently pressed her lips to the Slayer's.
The feeling was incredible. It rolled through Willow like thunder. She opened her mouth gently against Buffy's and slid the tip of her tongue lightly along the Slayer's lips. Buffy drew a sharp breath at the contact and opened her mouth slightly, brushing her tongue against Willow's encouragingly.
As the kiss deepened and the two young women softly explored each other's mouth, one of Buffy's hands gently moved up Willow's thigh to her hip, while the other slid over her arm to rest on her shoulder. The Slayer firmly pulled her love, her Willow closer, pressing their bodies together. Willow moaned into Buffy's mouth and wrapped her arms around her best friend, with one hand tangling in the hair at the back of Buffy's neck and the other slipping down to the small of her back.
Willow marveled at the sensation of Buffy's touch, the feeling of hot desire spreading through her body like wild fire. Her entire being was responding to the passion that was radiating from the Slayer. It was absolutely incredible. She'd never felt anything like this before, not in the time she'd spent with Oz, nor the stolen kisses she'd shared with Xander. This was everything that she'd ever dreamed a kiss could be and more.
After what seemed like hours, Willow felt Buffy pull back slightly and their lips parted. Willow whined slightly as the contact broke and tightened her grip on the Slayer. They sat in silence for a moment, holding each other and basking in the afterglow of what they had just shared. Willow could feel Buffy's doubts starting again, and spoke softly, "I'm in love with you, Buffy."
Willow instantly felt the tension that had begun to build melt away as the love of her life spoke, "Oh God, Willow ..." Buffy's voice broke. She buried her face against Willow and began to cry.
"Shh, it's okay Buffy," the redhead whispered soothingly, "I'm here now. We're together and everything is going to be okay."
* * * * *
She danced through the crypt, moving to music that only she could hear. She could feel death dancing around her, could taste blood and ash in the air, and could still smell the tangy scent of a Slayer's heartache. She glided to a stop at the back wall of the crypt as her eyes fell on the small pile of dust that lay undisturbed on the floor. It was all that remained of her beautiful boy.
They'd spent a century together, reveling in their wickedness, spreading death and sorrow across the face of the world. He was her lover, her childe, her wicked prince for a hundred years before Sunnydale. Then he'd done something naughty, he'd betrayed his family, turned his back on their lovely daddy. She'd been very cross with him about that. She'd done things to hurt him the way he'd hurt her. She'd left him all alone in the world.
But he was her Spike. She'd loved him more then any other and had known they'd be together again someday. Only now that wicked Slayer had killed him.
She stood over the remains of her childe, and bit deeply into her wrist, letting some of her blood mix with his dust, and whispered in Latin, "Ex nex, Ego tribuo vos vita. Ex cruor, Ego tribuo vos vultus. Per diligo, Ego redimio vos volo." She smiled wickedly as the dust on the floor began to glow like blood-red fire. She repeated the incantation in English, "From death, I give you life. From blood, I give you form. With love, I bind you to me. Come to me my beautiful, deadly boy."
The glow surged upwards like a pestilent mist, swirling slowly and taking shape. She could feel it in her blood, as the glow took the shape of a man and slowly coalesced.
Spike stood before her looking exactly as he had at the moment the Slayer had driven her stake into his chest. With a gasp he looked around.
"Drusilla..." His voice was but a whisper filled with awe as he looked at her.