Chapter Ten

The Return

Buffy sat at a table in the Bronze impatiently tapping her fingers on the table. She checked her watch then looked back up at the door. She was supposed to meet Riley here an hour ago, and here she was still waiting and still by herself.

Deciding that she didn’t need this bullshit, she got up and stormed out. When the door opened and the cool air hit air, she breathed in deeply and was hit with an intense tingling sensation that roared through her body like a racecar speeding down the track. Her breath hitched, her pulse quickened and she scanned her surroundings while telling herself she was just imagining things, he wasn’t here.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary she pushed the sensation away, satisfied that she was just imagining it, probably just a remnant from the dream. She turned and headed down the street.

She was walking through town heading back to the dorm when she saw Riley. He was walking on the opposite side of the street at a very fast pace, constantly looking over his shoulder left and right, like he didn’t want anyone to see where he was going. Of course her curiosity was piqued so she had to follow him and see what he was up to.

She slipped into stealth mode thankful that she was wearing all black. He turned left into the old warehouse district. She crept up behind him staying close to the shadows so he wouldn’t see her. He walked up to a run down building looked around and then went up the stairs and inside.

Buffy’s eyes narrowed as she wondered again what he was up to. She looked around saw no one coming and crossed the street. She walked up the steps and went inside.

It was dark and musky smelling, old furniture was strewn all around there were vamps everywhere and to her surprise they were feeding on humans. Her brow furrowed as she watched a man take money out of his pocket and give it to some skinny-looking blonde vamp.

She was even more amazed when the guy sat down and the vamp sunk her fangs in his arm greedily feeding as the man sat there with this incredible look of rapture on his face. A little part of her was jealous that this man was experiencing something that was akin to heaven. She closed her eyes at the memory of what that pleasure felt like. The darkness inside of her called out for the suckling mouth of her mate once again on her throat drinking her. She snapped herself out of it, shaking her head she admonished herself, this was not the time to be reminiscing.

She turned and walked up the stairs, what the hell kind of place was this and what was Riley doing here? She headed to the room at the end of the hall and slowly opened the door. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she looked in and saw Riley with his arm being sucked on by a vamp.

She didn’t say anything but she must have made some sort of noise because Riley looked up and into her eyes. “Buffy!”

Pushing the vamp away he quickly stood up and started rolling his shirt down over his arm.

Did he think she was stupid and didn’t see what he was doing?

“Let me explain it’s not what it looks like?”

If she truly cared she probably would be really pissed off by his stupidity. “Really...” she drawled out, “do tell?”

Riley was a little put off by the mixed feelings he was getting off of her. He couldn’t tell if she was mad at him or just mad. “Well I…um...I was...um...”

Buffy was about to respond to his stupidity when she was one again slammed with that tingling sensation. But this time it was accompanied with an incredibly warm hum that made her nipples tighten and shot a bolt of desire to her now moistened core. She shook her head as if to clear it and held up her hand, “You know what Riley I don’t give a shit. I don’t care what the hell you do. You can go around and let every vamp in town suck you off I couldn’t care less.”

She turned away ready to leave, but Riley grabbed her by the arm. Buffy looked down at his hand then raised her eyes to his “Don’t touch me.” She menacingly said.

Riley slowly let go of her arm and held up his hands as a peace offering “Buffy just let me explain?”

She walked up to him and grabbed him by the throat “You want to explain? Well I don’t want to hear any stupid explanations Riley in fact I don’t want to hear anything from you ever again.” She threw him across the room where he landed on an old table breaking it in two. The vamps that were in the room scattered quickly, they didn’t want to get in the way of a pissed off Slayer.

She strolled over to him picked him up again and threw him to the other side of the room. Riley was stunned from the force of his landing, shaking his head he tried to catch his bearings. He looked up to see Buffy coming at him again, her face was red with anger, and her eyes were like steel as they stared at him with no emotion and no compassion.

She reached for him again and grabbed him by the throat, with both hands she squeezed, applying pressure to his Adams apple. “You know Riley I only kept you around because I needed to get laid. But you know what?” Riley’s face was turning blue with the lack of oxygen and his eyes were bulging out of his head. “You can’t satisfy me. You are nothing but a low-life-wanna-be demon hunter who doesn’t know the first thing about pleasuring a woman.”

She continued to apply pressure slowly squeezing the life out of him. He was just about to pass out when she suddenly released him. He dropped to the ground coughing and sputtering for air. Looking up to see what caused her to let him go, he saw Buffy sprawled out on the floor across from him and Spike standing in between them.

Buffy looked up at Spike, who had just saved Riley from certain death, and she was flabbergasted that he had the balls to interfere. “Stay out of this Spike this has nothing to do with you.” She got up wiping off the dirt from her pants.

Spike had been following her and trailed her to here. He knew what the place was and he was curious as to what the Slayer was doing there. He didn’t know that she knew about it. Then when he saw vamps running out like their lives depended on it he ran inside to see what was going on.

It didn’t take him long to figure out what was happening but he couldn’t believe that Buffy was seriously doing what she was doing. She really had flipped her lid.

“Slayer you don’t want to do this.”

“Oh yes I do.” She was evilly smiling at him “If you want to play too just stand to the side and we’ll tango when I’m done with him.”

Spike shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.”

She eerily laughed at him “You can’t let me do that! That’s funny Spiky.” She turned serious and slowly took a step towards him “Who’s going to stop me…you…the chipped wonder?”

He looked at her sadly; he really didn’t want to get into this partly because it was really going to hurt and because he genuinely liked the Slayer. “If I have to…yes.”

“Why do you care what I do to him? You hate him. Besides, who knows…” she walked up to him and ran her hand up his chest and into his hair, pulling his head down to her lips she hovered there, almost but not touching his, “maybe you’ll get a little with him gone. I know you want me Spike.” She licked his ear and spoke softly “This is your chance to finally get a piece of me.”

Spike shuddered; he couldn’t control the natural response to her blatant come on as his body started to react to hers. He might not love her anymore but he was definitely still attracted to her. But he knew that he would never have a piece of her, so he lied “I don’t want you Slayer…at least not this bitch you’ve become.” He pushed her away from him, “Besides, I don’t want to tangle with Angelus later.”

She backhanded him so quickly he didn’t even see it coming; he landed on the floor hard. He looked up and into the red face of the angriest slayer he had ever seen and wished that he kept his mouth shut.

Buffy stood there fuming her hands were clenched at her sides and it took all the control she had not to put a stake through his heart. Instead she leaned down and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. She threw him up against the wall and started raining punches on his face.

Riley ran over and tried to pull her off, but she quickly turned around and threw a left cross at him landing it squarely on his eye and sending him flying into the wall.

She turned back to Spike and started her punishment again ruthlessly hitting him. Blood was abundantly flowing from his nose and his eye started to swell up.

“DON’T EVER…” punch “SAY THAT NAME…” punch “TO ME AGAIN…” punch “DO YOU UNDERSTAND!!!!” punch…”FUCK ANGELUS!”

Suddenly there was a band of steel on her arm that halted her next punch. She looked over thinking that it was Riley, but instead looked into the red glowing eyes of her mate.

“Gee lover I didn’t know you still cared.” Angel sneered to a shocked Buffy. He threw her back and off of Spike. Spike fell to the floor a bloody mess and Buffy landed clear across the room slamming into the wall, the force of her landing filling the room with a poof of plaster and dirt.

She sat there numbly shaking her head and trying to grasp at what just happened. He was here! What the hell was he doing here and butting into her business!

Angel didn’t even spare her a glance as he looked down at Spike. He held out a hand to him and helped him up.

“Thanks mate didn’t think I would ever say this, but I’m glad to see you.”

Angel sneered at him, “Yeah well you won’t be, don’t go far because I’m not done with you William. There seems to be some things that we need to discuss.” He leaned forward and grabbed his swollen nose. “Ow you wanker that hurts!” Spike cried out, but Angel was oblivious to him “Things that you’ve been doing that I’m not to happy about.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Buffy screamed out interrupting them. She just couldn’t seem to get her body to cooperate so she was still sitting on the floor.

Angel let go of Spike’s nose and slowly turned to his mate.

When he first arrived in Sunnydale the first thing he did was go see Giles where he dropped off Wes and Cordy. After the many tales of the ugly things his love had been up too, Giles told him that she was probably at the Bronze because she was supposed to meet Riley there.

So he had unhappily made his way to the Bronze not looking forward to seeing his mate out with another man. But he did it anyway because this was his mess and he meant to fix it. Which meant two things, one get rid of Riley and two get Buffy back where she belonged, by his side and, preferably, sane.

He was hiding in the shadows outside the Bronze preparing himself for whatever it was he was going to see in there, when the door was flung open and a very unhappy Buffy stormed out. She stopped for a few seconds, her body tensed and she frantically looked around. He had still smirking in the shadows, she sensed him. He watched as she shook her head, clearly denying that she sensed her mate and walked away.

She was a sight for sore eyes and he drank in everything about her; from the black form fitting leather pants that hugged every curve, to the black halter-top that let her breasts freely move with every agitated step she took. It took him a moment to calm the demon down who had howled with lust the second she stepped out. But for once, he really had to agree with him, because she was so beautiful and looked so scrumptious that he just wanted to throw her up against the wall and take her.

While he stood there fighting his emotions he saw Spike walk outside of the Bronze and stealthily follow her. Angel stepped out of the shadows and stared at the retreating figures. Giles told him that he had Spike following her but he couldn’t believe that she hadn’t noticed him. Spike was not the epitome of stealth. So it was just another example of his Slayer unraveling.

After following them to the warehouse and then inside he had stood outside the door to the room listening very intently to the conversation that was going on. When he heard what they were doing there, his face morphed to that of the Demon. When he heard his girl putting that asshole in his place he evilly smirked while he watched her work him over.

But when Spike entered the picture stopping her from her fury he was a little disappointed, because he didn’t even think to step in and stop her from strangling Riley, he was enjoying it too much. But when she got up and walked over to Spike trying to entice him, pushing up against him, licking his ear he had almost roared out his fury. He was so incensed that he missed what Spike said but he heard his name spoken and there was no mistaken the angry reply from Buffy.

Now as he looked at her sitting on the floor her face a mask of fury he felt only sorrow at what he had lead her to become.

He dismissed Spike and walked over to her as she scrambled to her feet. He had to be strong he couldn’t show her any sign of weakness or she would move in for the kill. Words of comfort and love would come later, but now he needed the anger of the Demon to do what he had to do.

“Buff you’ve been a bad girl.” He said shaking his head.

Buffy was ready to lash out with a sarcastic comeback when she realized what he said. She took a good long look into his eyes to see if it was what she thought. What she saw reflecting back at her confused her.

“You…you called me Buff.” She softly said sounding lost and bewildered. Angel wanted to grab her to him and explain everything to her but he couldn’t, at least not yet.

Instead he put his finger on his chin and tilted his head looking up at the ceiling “I did, didn’t I? mmm what do you suppose that means?”

She was so confused her head was spiraling, how could this be? It was like in the last dream they had shared. She was getting mixed feelings from him, the demon or the man, who was she dealing with? And who gave him a happy? How could he get a happy if it wasn’t me? “I…I don’t understand…”

“You don’t understand? Well let me see if I can explain it to you.” He took a step closer.

Buffy was frightened because she had no idea what was going on. She backed away as far as she could until her back hit the wall. Frantically she looked around the room for an escape.

Angel saw her panic and walked up to her. When he was right in front of her he leaned down till they where eye-to-eye. “See Buff it’s like this, the soul and I, are kind of one item now. Kind of like a mix and match bathing suit you would buy.”

Buffy was utterly confused. He sounded like Angelus, he talked like Angelus, every movement of his body was that confident cockiness of the demon, and he spoke of the soul as if he wasn’t there. Yet she sensed the soul and she knew that he was there. She didn’t know what to think or what to do she was like a deer caught in the headlights, frozen, unable to move.

But then she heard what he said and it snapped her out of her stupor. Her eyebrows rose at his analogy, who the hell was he buying bathing suits for? “Cute who taught you that, your new mature girlfriend.” She sneered at him angered by the memory that he had someone new in his life.

Angel laughed at her “Tsk…tsk...that sounds a little catty Buff. No I am just filled with an abundance of important knowledge. Now back to business…” taking her by the shoulders he pressed her further against the wall. He leaned in so their mouths were only a lick away. “The soul has made some stupid mistakes which has made you a bad, bad girl…I mean really Buff trying to strangle your own sister? That sounds eerily familiar. Anyway I’m here to fix that.”

Buffy was angry he had no right to come here and try to control what she did. He gave up that right six months ago. She also still had no idea what was going with him, but nonetheless she still couldn’t get past the fact that someone else had given the demon the means to escape and that pissed her off even more. “Who was it? Cordelia? She was always lusting after you. It was her wasn’t it?” She screamed at him.

He squeezed her arms and shook her. “Buff, you’re not listening to me. But if you must know before we move on to other things, I’ll tell you.” He prolonged his answer just to torture her a little.

Unable to resist any longer he leaned in and ran his tongue across her lower lip. She kept her eyes on his eyes as she felt his cool wet tongue run along her lower lip. She clenched her hands at her sides fighting to remain calm and not show him how much he was getting to her.

When he was done he whispered so softly she almost didn’t hear him “It was you.”

She looked at him incredulously. “What? What are you talking about?” How could that be they were just dreams! They weren’t real.

He knew her line of thinking, “You know you and I have always shared, shall we say…happy dreams.”

She shook her head not believing what she was hearing. “But they were dreams nothing more.”

He released her arms and stood back giving her some space. “No they were much more and I’m going to tell you, but not here and not now. First…” he went to turn away from her.

But she spun him around and punched him in the face jerking his head back.

“Oh God you really are blonde aren’t you?” Spike said shaking his head “Are you stupid can’t you see who your dealing with here!” He yelled at her. He knew that she was confused because he was just as confused, he sensed the soul but he also knew that the Demon was in charge. He didn’t know how it happened but he knew that this was a new and improved Angel, an Angel that was both soul and demon.

Angel just smiled at her. Buffy ignored him and addressed Spike instead “I don’t care. Who the hell does he think he is coming here and telling me what to do?” She stomped right up to Angel “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!!” she yelled in his face.

The smile disappeared from his face and his hand lifted tenderly touching her check, his face shifted back to his human form and Buffy found herself gazing into the warm sad eyes of her Angel. “Buffy, I told you in the dream that none of that was true. It was all a lie. I love you.”

She pushed his hand away and stepped away from him. “DON”T SAY THAT! YOU DON”T LOVE ME! YOU DON”T TREAT SOMEONE YOU LOVE THE WAY YOU TREATED ME!”

Riley, who had been quietly watching the scene unfold from the corner of the room, now stood up and walked over to Angel.

Spike put his hands up in the air, “Oh great, another wanker!”

Riley ignored Spike and stormed over to Angel pulling on his arm. “I knew it! I knew you had something to do with all of this! I knew you were somehow manipulating her dreams.”

Angel morphed back to the demon and grabbed Riley by the throat. “Boy you better mind your own business. What happens between my mate and me has nothing to do with you this is family business and you’re not in it. You should just be grateful that I don’t snap your neck for the way you disrespected her!”

Spike was snickering, “I’d like to see that mate.”

Angel looked over at Spike and growled at him. “Would you really William? Then maybe when I’m done with him I can snap your skinny neck!”

“For what…I didn’t do anything.” Spike was puzzled because he really couldn’t remember doing anything that would require that kind of punishment.

Angel threw Riley like a rag doll across the room and dismissed him. He walked over to Spike and picked him up by his ear “You didn’t do anything, ah? You weren’t chasing after my mate trying to get into her pants? You didn’t chain her up in your crypt trying to get her to love you? You didn’t press those SLIMY LIPS TO HERS AND PROPOSE MARRIAGE TO HER?” By the end of his rant his voice had risen and he was yelling and spitting in Spike’s face.

Spike stumbled because he didn’t know that Angel knew about that so he sheepishly answered. “Oh well I might have done those things. How the hell did you hear about it?”

Angel smirked. “Dru told me…right before I burned her to death!”

Spike was mad now. “Fuck you!” he spat blood out and it landed on Angel’s coat. Angel looked down at it, bent his head and licked it up.

“You can buy me a new coat later. But now you will take yourself and that lump of shit over there…” pointing to Riley, “and leave. You will make sure that Riley leaves Sunnydale for good, because if I see him again I will kill him. And then you will take yourself to the mansion and wait for me there. If you do all that then I’ll consider not hurting you…too much.” He let go and wiped at the blood on Spike’s shirt, seemingly trying to tidy him up.

Spike looked at Angel like he had lost his gourd. But he wasn’t stupid and he knew that this was his chance to get out alive.

He walked over to Riley who was still dazed; he picked him up and helped him out the door. “C’mon soldier boy. You sure don’t know how to take a beating do you? I thought they trained you people to be tough?”

“I’m not leaving her alone with him!” Riley struggled in Spike’s hold.

“Yeah, yeah big tough guy trust me you’ll thank me later”

He dragged a protesting Riley out of the room, leaving Angel and Buffy staring at each other.

Chapter Eleven