| TITLE: Growing Up on the Hellmouth pt 7/? AUTHOR: Faery FEEDBACK: Remember, feedback is like a cattle prod�the more you hit me with it, the faster I write :-) DISTRIBUTION: I would be honoured, just let me know first. PAIRING: Spike/Dawn RATING: Somewhere between PG-13 and R DISCLAIMER: Joss owns all. Joss rules all. But if he ever wants to give up Spike I'd be more than happy to play with him for a while. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not beta's and written in the midst of finals stress. Forgive all stupid grammar mistakes. Also, big thanks to Cookie for the idea of making Spike beg. SUMMARY: Spike has to deal with the repercussions of Dawn seeing him and Buffy together. Spike stood naked in front of his assortment of clothes, contemplating what to wear. He was just about to make a decision when the door to his crypt came flying open. "Buffy!" he squawked, his voice rising an octave. This wasn't quite what he'd fantasized when he pictured being naked with her. Quickly he grabbed a blanket and covered his groin area. As he tied the blanket around his waist he grumbled, "Bloody hell! Doesn't anyone in this godforsaken town ever knock?" Buffy was acting strangely. She wasn't kicking him�she wasn't punching him. She was just staring at him with a forlorn look in her eyes, like she was about to do something she was going to regret. Trying to speed things along, Spike asked her what she was doing there. He felt rather defenseless being almost naked and all. Suddenly Buffy's demeanor changed. Spike took a nervous step backwards as she began to advance towards him, a predatory look in her eye. Spike knew that look too well. Hell, he'd *used* that look many a time. It was a look that screamed, "I'm going to eat you up, and you're going to enjoy it." "Actually, Spike, I have you right where I want you," Buffy practically purred. Spike raised his eyebrows. Now what was that supposed to mean? Spike soon lost the ability for all rational thought as Buffy answered his unspoken question, scratching and kissing his chest. A very prominent bulge began to form beneath the blanket, and Spike let a low moan escape the back of his throat. He'd wanted this for so long! Spike couldn't even decipher the words coming out of the Slayer's mouth. They were nothing but background noise to him. All he could concentrate on was the feeling of her lips and her hands. He was totally unprepared when she yanked his head down and began to roughly kiss him, ravaging his mouth. Spike didn't know what to do. He didn't want to offend her and have this dream end, so he aimlessly moved his arms around, trying to find a neutral spot. Finally, he settled for cupping her face in his hand. He ran his thumb along her jawbone, trying to make the kiss more gentle. As he gave himself over to the kiss, the truth struck him. He suddenly knew, with perfect clarity, that this was not real. Whatever the Slayer's game was, it involved no feelings for him other than disgust. He could tell by the way she kissed. It was the same sort of kiss that the two-bit whores had given him so long ago, when he would desperately grope them and call out Cecily's name. Spike's whole body tensed with this revelation. "Well, if the Slayer wants to play games," he thought, "I'll give her a game." With a brute force, he clutched Buffy to him. Ravaging her mouth as she had ravaged his. He pawed at her as if she meant nothing, his hands roaming all over before finally settling on her ass and on her breast. Unbeknownst to him, Dawn was watching the whole spectacle. As she ran into the night with tears in her eyes, Spike continued his assault. He groped Buffy and pinched her nipple hard. Then he pushed her onto the ground and roughly spread her legs wide apart. Spike knelt between her thighs and grabbing her by the arms, he began to shake her. "I don't know what game you're playing, but it ends here!" he yelled. "Who's name were you going to scream when I fucked you? Who's? My nancy-boy sire's...the little tin soldier's? Or maybe even your old man Watcher's. It sure as hell wouldn't be mine! Who died and made you God�to think you have the right to play with people's hearts like that? I got feelin's too, ya know." Buffy sat there in mute horror, tears streaming down her face, not because she had hurt the vampire in any way, but because what he said had really struck home. She was playing with Dawn's heartstrings and hadn't even stopped to think of the consequences. Without even glancing in Spike's direction, Buffy got up and moved towards the door. "Dawn�Dawnie? Are you there? Oh, God�she's gone!" Buffy cried, a fresh batch of tears streaming down her face. Buffy moved to run after her sister, and Spike caught her by the arm. "Dawn?" he asked angrily. "Dawn was here?" "I did it to protect her. It's my job to keep her safe from things like you," Buffy said, emptiness tingeing her voice. Somehow she realized she had pushed it too far this time. "She has a protector you stupid bint...ME!" Spike paced around the room angrily. "Just how do you think you made that little girl feel? She's all head over heels for me, and what does she get to see? Big sister whoring herself out all in the name of protecting her. I bet that went over real well! You remember how you felt when soldier-boy was havin' a spot of fun behind your back? Cried for days you did�I know�I was watchin' ya the whole time. Now imagine you caught soldier boy messing around with one of your pals, little witchy Red Riding Hood or something. Suddenly it's worse...all personal. Double betrayal�double pain. Add to that being some mystical Key and sprinkle on a bit of big sister rivalry, and you have yourself a whole heap of hurting. And *presto*, we get what you just did to kid sister!" Spike ended his tirade with a growl and stalked out the door, Buffy chasing after him. "Just where do you think you are going, Spike?" " *I'm* going to find her. *You* are going home!" Spike yelled. Buffy punched Spike and threw him to the ground. "You stay away from my sister!" "But will she stay away from me, luv?" Spike asked with a cocky grin. Buffy was about to launch into another attack on Spike when they both heard a shrill scream pierce the air. "Dawn!" they both exclaimed simultaneously. Spike easily outdistanced Buffy and arrived at the scene first. Dawn was surrounded by several dozen pygmy-like creatures. Some were clinging to her back, and a few had made a home in her hair. The rest were bouncing up in down in front of her, chanting something in a foreign language. Spike growled at them, and they all ran away screaming, making high pitched squealing noises. Dawn ran into Spike's arms and hugged him tight. "I was so scared, Spike," she sighed, nuzzling her head into his chest. Then she backed away and slapped him, "but that doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you. I saw you with Buffy." Just then Buffy ran up from behind, panting and out of breath. "What� were�they?" she gasped. Under normal circumstances, Spike would have laughed, but he was still stinging from Dawn's slap. "They're called trollags," Spike said soberly. " Harmless buggers. They are more like sprites than anything else. They got scared when they saw the Big Bad comin'." Dawn's curiosity got the best of her. Forgetting her anger for a moment, she asked "what did they want? They were chanting something." Spike did laugh this time. "They wanted to play with you, luv," Spike said tenderly. "They're just children out for a spot of fun. That's what they were chanting...play, play, play!" A smile spread across Dawn's face. "Wow�that is so cool! I wish I hadn't been so scared." "Cool? You think a bunch of demons attacking you was cool?" Buffy interjected loudly. "Not demons, Slayer. Sprites. There is a difference you know. Not everything that goes bump in the night is evil. It'd pay for you to learn that." Buffy continued to ignore Spike. "We're going home," Buffy said brusquely as she grabbed Dawn by the arm. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" Dawn yelled as she yanked herself away from Buffy. "You set me up. It was bad enough when I had to watch you and Riley go at it. But I liked Spike�I really liked him. You didn't have to practically have sex with him right in front of me just to make a point. I get it. He's yours, not mine. You didn't have to rub it in." "Spike is *not* mine! I don't even *like* him! And you shouldn't either!" Buffy was outraged. This was not going at all how she had anticipated. "Slayer, she's a big girl. Let her make her own decision." Spike turned to Dawn with a pleading look in his eye. "C'mon kitten, how's about you and me go somewhere quiet and talk? You can run off if you like, but I'd be daft to let you go off without at least trying to give my side of things." Dawn looked back and forth between Buffy and Spike and chose the lesser of two evils. "Buffy, I am leaving with Spike. Tell Mom that I was really stressed and I'm sleeping over at a friend's house. You even try to stop me, and I tell everyone that I saw you making out with Spike when you were supposed to be protecting me." Dawn had hit a nerve, and Buffy was too ashamed to argue. She ran up to Dawn and hugged her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She still couldn't bring herself to apologize to Spike. Instead she threatened him. "You hurt even a hair on her head, and I will torture you slowly before I kill you." Spike glared down at the petite blonde. "You ever hurt her again, chip or no chip, what I do to you will make Angelus look like the bleedin' tooth fairy." Battle lines firmly established, Buffy stalked off, stake in hand. She was determined to kill something before going home or she would never blow off enough steam. Once Buffy was gone, Spike turned to Dawn. "Shall we take this inside, kitten? Less chance of the creepy crawlies gettin' us if we aren't out of doors." "Sure, whatever." They walked in silence back to Spike's crypt. Once inside, Dawn crumpled, collapsing onto Spike's couch. Through her tears, Dawn asked, "Why...why, Spike? You used me. You said you'd never hurt me, but you don't care at all. I thought I was special." "Aw hell, luv. You are special. What Buffy did was wrong. She used my feelings for her against us both to get you to hate me. Forgive me, pet?" "Answer just one question, Spike. If Buffy and I both loved you, who would you choose?" Where does she come up with this stuff, Spike thought, the Teenager's Guide to Awkward Questions? Spike looked at her teary eyes and did something he didn't often do. He told the truth. "I'm gonna tell it true, pet, but don't get your knickers in a twist until I'm finished. Deal?" Dawn nodded and Spike began. "To be quite honest, I'd have to choose Buffy..." Dawn covered her mouth to muffle her sob. "Hush�hush." Dawn leaned into Spike's shoulder, and he smoothed her hair. Suddenly she grabbed him and bit hard into his shoulder. "Owww! What'd you go and do that for?" Spike said in surprise. "You're a vampire. Vampires like pain right? All that biting is supposed to be like a turn-on, isn't it? Buffy�Buffy's always beating you up, and you love her. I can be like Buffy...I can at least try. Please don't pick her. Please! I need you...!" Dawn's voice kept rising in intensity until it was almost a shriek. "Dawn, luv�you have to let me finish," he said softly. "I said I would choose Buffy, now let me tell you why. You asked what I would do if you both *loved* me. Well Hell, I've loved the Slayer for months now. I've only just started taking a fancy to you. Of course I'd choose her. But see here. She doesn't love me. Believe it or not, she proved that the moment she kissed me. I could feel it. The way she kissed me made me feel dirty, like I was nothing to her. Last time I felt that way was the final night I was human. I've been there and done that. No way I'm going back. Now ask me the right question without any what if's...who would I choose now?" Dawn looked up with hope in her eyes. "Who would you choose, Spike?" "I choose you, nibblet." Dawn laughed and cried at the same time. He chose her! Spike brushed a tendril of hair behind Dawn's ear. He leaned in close, preparing to kiss her, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. "And just why should I take you back," Dawn said, her bravado back in full force. "I already said that I choose you, pet. What else does a fellow have to do?" Dawn got a mischievous look in her eye. "Beg for me, Spike." Faery |