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DISCLAIMER: I wish. You wish. We wish.
SUMMARY: PG, for language. S5. Dawn tries to sneak out. Spike stops her.
WORDCOUNT: 1095
NOTES: for Tinpanalley's birthday.
DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
by Leni
Dawn bit her lip nervously and finally jumped onto the ground. She had been higher than
expected and landed on her butt. Stifling a yelp, she stood up and dusted off her
backside. She secured the bag around her shoulder, palming around it to make sure
everything was still intact. Satisfied that nothing had broken or spilled on her way down
her window, Dawn turned around and... "AaaaH!"
Spike grinned and took a deep drag from his cigarette, exhaling slowly as he regarded
Dawn.
"You scared me!" the girl accused, making to sidestep him. She had known it
wouldn't work, but she had to try, right?
As expected, Spike grabbed her shoulder, shaking his head amusedly. "Just where're
you going, Dawn."
She jerked out of his grasp, trying to reignite her 'bratty teenager' attitude to scare
him off. It had worked before. "None of your business," she spat, turning
around and walking away.
"The Slayer's little sis scurries away and you think it's not the business of a
vampire?" He laughed. "Don't you know what a golden chance this'd be for any
demon with two intact brain cells."
"And you aren't including yourself in the list because...?"
"Cute." Spike rolled his eyes, flicking the ash in quick movements.
"Juvenile, but nothing I wouldn't expect. Now." He grabbed her shoulder again
and forced her to face the wall she'd climbed down. "Up you go."
Dawn crossed her arms over her chest. "No." She turned her face up and pouted
for all she was worth. "Janice is waiting for me."
Of course, Spike wasn't the least bit touched. His eyebrow raised in that expression Dawn
always read as 'and that should concern me?'. "Would you prefer going through the
door?"
That'd mean waking Buffy up, her sister would surely throw the
tantrum of the year if she caught Dawn sneaking out. He wouldn't! "You
wouldn't!"
The tip of his cigarette burned bright before Spike let the smoke out. He shrugged
noncommitally. "It's your call, itty bit." He looked at her expression and
laughed again. "Aw, quit the sulking, will you? You didn't really think I'd let you
go just like that."
"You weren't even supposed to be here!" Dawn complained, stomping her foot on
the grass. Then she considered it. "Wait." A grin began to form on her lips.
"You aren't supposed to be here. Buffy is all over her Let's Keep Spike Away
campaign." He glanced down and Dawn would have sworn he looked hurt. Well, she'd be
the hurt one if Buffy found her out. "You shouldn't be around, Spike." She poked
him in the ribs to accentuate her next words. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"
He didn't answer for several seconds, but when he did the careless grin was back. "To
make sure little senseless girls didn't sneak out."
This time it was Dawn who rolled her eyes. "Right," she said, making sure the
sarcasm was evident. "And then you'd go to Sleeping Beauty's and kiss her good
night."
His smile widened. "Well," he tossed his cigarette away. Dawn had to wonder how
he hadn't set her yard in fire before. "A kiss was just the beginning, but you're
still three years short of hearing the real story."
"Oh." Dawn's nose scrunched. "Ew."
Spike shrugged, taking his lighter from his coat. "You asked."
But Dawn hadn't learned that her sister was a Slayer before their mother discovered it by
letting herself be distracted. "No, I asked why you were here."
He didn't answer, instead lighting a new cigarette and mutely smoking it. Dawn narrowed
her eyes. Spike liked - no, loved - to brag about his plans, be they evil, good or
simply mischievious. For him not to say anything... "You were spying on Buffy!"
Dawn said, and how he tossed the cigarette before it was finished confirmed her
suspicions. Dawn laughed. "This is rich, what are you, her guardian angel?"
Spike's expression tightened. Oops, bad choice of words.
"I was just in the neighbourhood," he began when he'd gained some composure, as
if he'd fool her. "When I heard enough noise to make Waterloo seem a library meeting.
Turned down the corner and found you making a good impression of a circus monkey."
"Hey!"
"You'll tell her?"
Dawn considered it. But, really, there was nothing to consider. A favour for a favour and,
besides, Buffy was a big girl, she could take care of herself. "And you'll let me go
to Janice's?"
Spike eyed her carefully, finally relaxing and nodding. His sudden smirk told Dawn he
wasn't finished, though. "I'll take you."
Dawn bristled. "What?! It's only four blocks, I can go by myself!"
He shook his head. "Uh uh, we do this, we do it my way." He petted Dawn's hair
lightly when she threw him a furious look. "After all, your sister already hates me,
I have nothing to lose. You, on the other hand..."
Dawn didn't need to be told the rest of the sentence. She capitulated with a nod.
He smiled and patted her shoulder. "Come on, G.I. Jane. When we get back I'll teach
you how to do that," he pointed to the 'ladder' - i.e. the set for the climbing plant
her mother had left unfinished - that had helped her leave her room, "without
alerting every demon with sharp hearing."
"Really?" she asked hopefully. On her way down she'd been praying to every saint
and god in her knowledge. It really hadn't been as smooth as she had hoped.
"Really."
Dawn smiled and, hungry after her tiring encounter with Spike, fumbled around in her bag
for some chocolate. The vampire laughed when she offered him some, but took a piece
anyway. "It melts slowly, I like the texture through its different states."
For a moment Dawn considered taking his hand, feeling a bit like the time Xander took her
to the zoo (they never saw the African section) and made sure their hands were joined at
all times. Only not. Spike was too different from Xander to make that comparison. If she
thought about it, Spike was too different from everybody else. Who else would willingly
help her sneak out and promise to teach her how to sneak in?
Her smile widened and in a truce with herself, she settled for linking her arm through
his, the leather soft and warm under her sleeveless arm. Spike looked down at her and
shook his head in disbelief, muttering something Dawn couldn't hear.
Tough, she thought in a sudden giddy mood, you're stuck with me for the night.
The End
04/08/04
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