CHAPTER 9

Giles was the first to awaken the next day. The unfamiliar warmth of a body beside his confused him for a moment. Opening his eyes, he saw Anya burrowed under the covers, breathing rhythmically and peacefully. With difficulty, he suppressed the urge to draw her back into his arms and kiss her awake, choosing instead to prop his head on one hand and watch her as she slept. He wondered how she would feel this morning; hoped that he wouldn’t see regret in her eyes when she awoke.

She stirred under his gaze, opening her eyes to meet his. He held his breath, waiting for her to lead the way. She smiled languidly, stretching beneath the covers.

“What’s for breakfast?” she asked.

Giles blinked; it was hardly what he had expected to hear. Noting his confusion, she hurried to explain.

“Sex always makes me hungry. We had lots of sex, so this morning I’m very hungry. Can we order breakfast please?”

“Of course,” replied Giles, reaching for the telephone and making mental notes to stock the refrigerator. “What would you like? I generally just have toast with butter and jam, but I can order you -”

“Double helpings of everything,” said Anya as she disappeared beneath the covers with a smirk. “I’m about to get a whole lot hungrier.”

***

It was afternoon before Anya arrived at the Magic Box. The previous day’s shopping was still littered behind the counter, and she seemed more than a little distracted.

“I take it your evening went well, then.” Spike leaned on the counter, watching her. He hadn’t seen her this happy for a long time; it suited her. And good on them both, he thought. I’ll have to tell Nancy.

She smiled. “Oh, very well. As did this morning. The sex was both frequent and extremely pleasurable, and I’m seeing him again tonight. He has to meet with Willow today, but he should be free by four. That should give us time for further erotic adventures before the Scooby meeting at seven.” She frowned. “He’s due to return to England in three days. Suddenly, I see a great deal of transcontinental teleporting in my future.”

Spike grinned as Anya returned a jar to the shelves behind the counter.

“I definitely didn’t need the Makula demon gizzards,” she said with a secret smile. “Giles may be older than Xander was, but he’s still extremely agile. And did I mention talented?”

She rummaged in the shopping bags, emerging with a white satin bra and matching panties. “What do you think of these?” she asked Spike. “Too virginal?”

Only Anya, thought Spike. I hope the Watcher doesn’t see us like this.

“Probably, pet.”

She rummaged through the bags, holding items up and then discarding them onto the counter as she went, finally pulling out a dark green lace bra and camisole.

“How about this?” she asked, holding the camisole against her. “Do the English find green erotic and arousing?”

“Very sexy,” agreed Spike. Jokingly, he added, “Going to model it for me?”

A strangled noise from the shop’s back door made them both look up guiltily. Buffy stood there in her sweats, clearly on her way to the training room. Anya quickly dropped her lingerie onto the pile of silk and lace on the counter.

Spike was the first to break the silence.

“Buffy. Uh, this isn’t what it looks like.”

“Really?” she replied. “So you’re not back in Sunnydale, and Anya isn’t showing you her underwear?”

“Well, yeah,” he said. “And yeah. But it’s not for my benefit.”

Behind the counter, Anya kicked Spike. “Don’t tell her,” she muttered out of the side of her mouth.

“ It’s not as if it matters to me anyway,” replied Buffy coldly. “I thought you told me Spike wasn’t back in Sunnydale, Anya.”

“Technically, I didn’t.” Anya fiddled with the pile of silk and lace, packing each item away into its bag. “I just told you I could find out if he was.”

This conversation was going nowhere fast. Spike moved out from behind the counter, walking towards Buffy, hands by his sides. He stopped about six feet away, trying not to show how much her presence affected him. A flash of amber at her throat showed him she had received his latest note.

He smiled ruefully. “This wasn’t how I wanted to tell you I was back, lo- Buffy.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him, tapping her foot on the floor, arms crossed defensively over her chest. “I can imagine.”

He gestured to the table. “Can we talk?”

She paused for a moment before moving to sit in her usual place. She looked up at him expectantly.

“I’ve been back in Sunnydale for about a fortnight,” he began. “I didn’t know how to tell you; didn’t know if you’d want to see me after the last time –” he broke off, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table, watching her for signs of the revulsion she must feel. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve relived that scene, over and over again. Always the same. It’s there in my head, every night. I can never make it go away.” He leaned forward. “I can’t erase what I did, but now I can stop myself from ever doing it again. I’d stake myself before I’d hurt you, Buffy.”

She watched him, eyes shuttered, giving nothing away.

“If you want me to leave, I’ll go,” he continued, unnerved by her silence. “I only came back because of Anya –” he saw the shock in her eyes. “She needed a hand in the Magic Box,” he clarified. “I’m working here; it’s all on the up and up. I’ve even got the green card to prove it.”

“Why--,” she tried again. “Why haven’t I seen you before now?”

“I’ve been keeping a low profile, trying to stay away when you were going to be around. Didn’t want to upset you.”

She nodded slowly, then frowned. “I was at your crypt last week. Clem didn’t –”

“I asked Clem not to tell anyone I was back,” he explained. “Got a new place now. I told him he can keep the crypt.”

She smiled at that. “He likes it there. He’s taken good care of it for you.”

He relaxed a little. Maybe this was going to work. Maybe she was alright, as Giles had said.

Catching herself, she frowned slightly. “Does Giles know you’re back? How about the others?”

He nodded. “Giles knows. And Dawn saw me here on Saturday.” She winced at that, and he hurried to reassure her. “I asked her not to tell you. Said I wanted to do it in my own time. We’re not exactly best buddies these days, but she agreed to keep that quiet. I think she’d be happy with anything as long as I stayed away from you.” After a moment’s pause, he added, “She’s doing well, Buffy. You’re bringing her up right.”

That earned him another smile; this time of shared pride. Then another question: “And the others?”

“Willow knows. Ran into her in London a couple of times. Not Xander, though.”

“So I’m not the last, then.” Her lips twitched despite herself. “It’s probably just as well that Xander doesn’t know. He’s hardly looking for a beer and video night with his best undead buddy these days.”

They fell silent, uncomfortable with the memories.

“I’m okay, Spike,” she said suddenly. “What you did to me, that was terrible. But I did some pretty terrible things to you too. We’ve both got through it, that’s the important thing. And I’m okay.”

“I’m glad,” he replied.

She looked at him searchingly. “And the slightly weird anonymous notes?”

“Just watching your back, Slayer,” he replied. “You need to train more. Improve your aim. You’re getting sloppy.”

Abruptly, he pushed his chair back from the table, then stood and stalked to the counter, where an openly curious Anya had finished packing away her underwear. “I’ll be here if you need me, but I’ll stay away when you don’t. Unless you tell me to leave, anyway.”

Buffy nodded slowly, then stood and walked to the training room. As she reached the door, she stopped and turned, looking steadily at him. He had to strain to hear her at all, she spoke so softly.

“I’m glad you came back, Spike.”

***

“You’re sure they’re round here?”

Spike peered at Clem through the gloom.

“Yes,” the demon whispered through his teeth. “Those containers over there.”

He pointed to a haphazard arrangement of shipping containers in a little-used part of the Docks. Faint light could be seen inside them, and as they moved closer, they began to hear the sound of chanting.

The Grshnit stood in a loosely-formed circle around what appeared to be a large clump of dusty grey jello. They were semi-human in appearance, with thick, stocky bodies and short arms and legs. Their grey flesh appeared slimy, and a single tentacle grew from each one’s head. Contrary to the Watchers Council’s information, they had no tails, but had small horn-like growths on each shoulder. In dim light and wearing a hat and coat, they could probably pass for human. As he watched, one smiled and opened its mouth – and out shot a smaller, no less gaping maw, that snapped around as the demon whirled and chanted.

Spike tried to jot down the sounds they made, but the chanting was too fast. “Dammit,” he muttered.

“What’s up?” whispered Clem, spitting small pieces of corn chip and salsa as he spoke.

“I can’t quite make out the words,” replied Spike. “If I can get them down, I can get Giles to have a look at them. See what they’re saying.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” his friend responded. “It’s Akkadian. It sounds like the Chant of Rebirth to me, but I’d need to check on it.”

The vampire grinned, and clapped Clem on the shoulder. “Knew I’d brought you along for a reason.”

***

“’Naked vacuuming’ is NOT a form of housework beginning with ‘N’, Anya.”

The demon looked up from the Scattergories game. “Buffy, Giles, back me up here. Tell Dawn I’m right.”

Giles ruthlessly suppressed the rather enticing image of a naked vengeance demon with a Hoover.

“She has a point,” he said. “It’s one way to get the housework done. If Anya really vacuums naked,” – he threw her a look that said he’d be investigating the truth of her statement in private – “she deserves to count that answer.”

With no real leads on the demon situation, the Scooby meeting at the Summers’ home had quickly turned frivolous. There had been a couple of awkward moments during the game, starting in the second round when everyone was required to supply a girl’s name beginning with ‘T’ - who would have thought there were so many Tillys and Tessas in the world?. Struggling through ‘M’ hadn’t been pleasant either – Willow apparently considered ‘macramé’ both a hobby and a crime. It beat the alternatives, which no one had been game to say out loud. Even Anya had apparently learned discretion, although Xander had been expecting her to burst out with something inappropriate all night. It was easy for him to remember why he’d loved her when it was this way, without the distraction of her demonhood.

Anya yawned theatrically. “I’m tired,” she announced to the room in general. “Despite having had a full and restful night’s sleep last night,” she added.

Giles looked up casually. “I can give you a lift,” he offered. “It’s about time I headed back to my hotel.”

“Or Xander and I can give you a ride if you like, Anya,” said Willow. “We’ll be heading home soon anyway. I need to catch up with Sp- someone tomorrow.”

Anya stood quickly. “I’ll go with Giles,” she said. “We have business issues to discuss. Must review those spreadsheets.”

“That’s right,” confirmed Giles. “We have a lot to keep us busy. Mostly housework issues. Spreadsheets and outstanding payments.”

“We may even have to pull an all-nighter,” the vengeance demon added, as she grabbed her coat and hurried out the door.

“Did I do something wrong?” asked Willow nervously. At the looks of confusion, she clarified, “They just seemed kind of weird. So I wondered if it was me.”

“I didn’t notice anything,” replied Xander. “I’d say you’re imagining things there, Magic Free Girl.”