Summary: The Scoobies have a small accident that leads
to some major changes in their lives
Rating: NC17
Timing: Takes place S5, shortly after Family but before Fool for Love
Disclaimer All kinds of gender stereotypes were harmed
in the writing of this story. Any injured copyrights were unintentional
Notes Mydeira is my Beta Nazi, but she knows I'm her bitch.
This story was inspired by a very old Star Trek fanfic titled The Procrustean Petard,
by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath. Of course, they didn't actually have sex in theirs . . .
The title is a quote from Storm Front, by Jim Butcher.
You haven't lived until you've heard James say those three words
together in that soft, caramel rich voice of his . . . guh.
Chapter 12 Camp Follower
They had been sniping at each other all night.
About their clothes.
“You look like a bleedin’ Gap ad.”
“Well, at least I won’t be mistaken for the June Hustler centerfold. You look like a five dollar hooker, Spike.”
“They’re your clothes, Slayer! What does that say about you?”
About where to go.
“I haven’t been through St. Michael’s in a week.”
“When have you ever found anythin’ in St. Michael’s? Vamps hate it there. Not enough cover, and it floods like a sieve when it rains. Now Grace Hills is prime real estate . . .”
“Oh, what do you know?”
“Hello, vampire.”
About how they fought.
“Keep your bloody left up, Slayer! You aren’t . . . so fast now . . . you can’t dodge so easy!”
“Mind your own damn fight, Spike! I’ve got enough problems . . . without worrying about you fighting . . . like a girl!”
“Depends on the girl, doesn’t it?”
Finally Riley couldn’t stand it anymore. “Why is he along again?” He still had to lean a bit to speak softly in her ear.
Spike heard anyway, and threw a brilliant wicked grin back over his shoulder. “Bait.”
“Better you than me,” Buffy grumbled. “I hate bait duty. Makes me miss Cordelia.”
“Who?” Riley asked.
“She was with us back in high school. Xander dated her for about a year. She’s down in LA with Angel now.”
“How is the cheerleader, anyway?” Spike didn’t look back as he spoke.
“Good, I guess. You talked to her more in the last year than I did.”
Spike knew Xander’s old girlfriend?
“Yeah, but I’d kidnapped Peaches and was threatenin’ her, so there wasn’t much meaningful conversation.” He glanced over his shoulder curiously. “You made two trips there yourself last year. Never made time for the girlish reunion?”
She shrugged. “The first time I was too upset.” She glanced surreptitiously at Riley, then pulled her eyes away quickly. But Riley caught it. She had been upset about Angel. About something Angel had done. “The second time I went, Cordy was smart and got as far away from Faith’s ground zero as she could. And even if she hadn’t, with all the arguing and running and fighting for our lives, there really wasn’t a lot of time for socializing.”
They walked on quietly, but after a minute Buffy asked curiously, “How do you know Cordelia? I didn’t think you two ever actually met?”
“I introduced myself, one night in the Watcher’s library while you lot were out Scoobying. Thought she’d make a pretty toy for Dru, send you a right clear message. Chit didn’t think too highly of that and pointed a crossbow at my privates. I got the hell outta there.”
Buffy chuckled at the image. “It wouldn’t have killed you, you chicken.”
“No, but it would have hurt like a son of a bitch. A special pain only a bloke can know.” He grinned wickedly. “I hope you get a chance to experience that during your visit to man land.”
“Shut up, Spike.”
Riley listened to them, and felt again that sense of isolation he always got around her friends. Everything in her life always returned to her high school years and all the experiences she had acquired there. But there was no way for him to break into that. He could never be a part of that, and so there would always be a part of her he didn’t have access to. Even Spike was more privy to it than he was.
“Shouldn’t bait be a little further out in front?” he asked, surprised at how sharp his words came out.
And Spike, damn him, picked up on it. “Wouldn’t want to interfere with your quality alone time. You two lovebirds have a cozy walk in the moonlight. I’ll be up ahead out of hearin’ range. Call you if I need you.” He turned and faded into the shrubbery. “Don’t break him, Slayer.”
“You’re a pig, Spike!” she shouted after him.
A soft, female “oink, oink” drifted back through the trees.
Buffy looked up at Riley, embarrassed, then turned away, her hands tightly clasped behind her back.
There were days he really hated that guy.
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