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Plagued--Why Us? Series - Flushed With Love -- by Ruby
Rating: PG-13
Description: Valentine's Day, Plagued-style, sequel to Down, Boy!.
Note: Dedication -- For Bree. Happy Birthday!:-)
Disclaimer: Joss owns all.
Buffy entered the living room as the doorbell rang, and Willow went to open the door of the apartment she shared with her friend. She smiled widely at the blonde vampire who was leaning against the door frame and waved him inside.
"What's this?" the slayer asked, flashing Spike a perturbed glare. "Valentine's Day, and no flowers? Or isn't it considered manly for vampires to buy roses?"
"He isn't allowed," Willow told her. "Right, Spike?"
"Why not?" Buffy's brow crumpled in confusion as the vampire nodded.
"It's a long story," the redhead answered. "Part of the craziness that's been following us around for months. No flowers. Not ever."
"Oh," the Buffy murmured.
The slayer plopped silently down into an armchair, sincerely saddened by the thought that her best friend would never receive roses from the man she was obviously in love with--even though Willow hadn't actually admitted those feelings aloud, and even though that man was a vampire who infuriated the young blonde woman to no end.
"I brought you something else, though," Spike said to
Willow, and Buffy was drawn out of her gloomy musings as he dug into a pocket of his duster and pulled out a small box.
Willow's emerald eyes glimmered up at him as his mouth quirked into a sexy grin, and he pushed the black velvet case into her hands. She pulled him over to the sofa and sat down next to him, turning to face him and tucking her legs in under her.
"Oh!" the redhead gasped as she lifted the lid.
Curiosity won out over her dislike of the vampire, and Buffy rose and moved over to the arm of the sofa as Willow pulled a ruby pendent out of the box. The blood-red gem glittered in the soft light of the lamp on the end table, and Willow put her arms around Spike's neck and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
"It's beautiful!" she whispered. "Where did you get it? No. Wait. Maybe I don't want to know."
Spike chuckled and took the pendant from her fingers, "From the jeweler in town. And I didn't bite him to get it. Not even a nip."
Willow grinned and swept her hair away from her neck, turning her head slightly as he worked the delicate clasp and fastened the gold chain around her. Buffy rolled her eyes as the vampire's gaze drifted to the redhead's chest, obviously more captivated by the cleavage above which the ruby rested than he was by the gem, itself. She smiled as Willow's eyes moved to her.
"It looks wonderful on you, Will," Buffy told her.
Spike raised an eyebrow, "I think the slayer just complimented me on my taste, pet."
"Don't take it to heart--not that you could since yours doesn't actually *work*--I'm sure this was an anomaly," Buffy shot back.
"Anomaly?" Spike echoed dryly. "Has the watcher been making you read the dictionary again?"
"Oh, shut up," the slayer grumbled.
"Okay, guys," Willow sighed and grabbed Spike's hand.
"You promised me dinner, remember?"
He nodded and stood, pulling her up beside him, "I hear they hire some tasty waiters over at that French place."
Buffy bristled at Spike's statement, and he smirked coldly over at her and continued, "Unless you'd rather have fast food, though dragging those checkers through those narrow drive-through windows can be a real pain in the bum."
"Would you just go!" the slayer shouted, finally losing her patience.
Willow squeezed his hand and dragged him over to the door, pushing him outside and closing the door as his deep chuckle of satisfaction drifted back over his shoulder.
Willow slid the pizza box back onto the coffee table and leaned back against Spike's arm, patting her flat stomach as she smiled lazily.
"And I thought you fancied an expensive dinner at a posh restaurant," the vampire grinned down at her.
"When all the time, what I really wanted was..." she shifted against his shoulder and raised her head to brush her lips softly against his, "...you."
He grinned against her mouth, and his tongue darted out to sweep across her lips. They parted, and Spike gathered her up onto his lap as he explored her mouth with slow, sweet strokes. Suddenly, she pulled away from him, her eyes widening as she looked quickly around her.
"Pet?" Spike asked.
"Did you hear it?"
"Hear what?" his eyes traveled the room to try to find whatever it was she was looking for.
Willow pushed away from him and rose to her feet, swatting her hand through the air, close to her ear,
"There! Did you hear it?"
He stood slowly, "Willow, what's wrong? I don't hear--"
His head snapped around as a quiet buzzing, not unlike that of an insect, whispered close to his head. The redhead beside him ducked as she felt a faint motion brushing quickly past her right cheek.
"Bloody hell. What is it this time?" Spike grumbled.
"Ow!" Willow squealed and clapped her right hand over her left shoulder.
Pulling her hand away, Spike eyed a small dot of blood, no bigger than the point of a pin, resting on the curve of her pale shoulder. Willow's eyes traveled upward to where the attack--if it could be called that--seemed to have come from.
"Look!" she gasped, pointing up at the overhead light.
"What is it?"
Spike crooked his neck to see a small, winged creature hovering close to the light shade, "Hell if I know."
The intruder swooped down, and Spike snarled as he felt a small prick on his forearm. He raised his arm and lapped away the tiny splotch of blood. The miniscule being buzzed around the length of the sofa, stopping in mid-air above the arm at the far end.
"Is that...is that..." Willow's mouth dropped open as she squinted at the little diaper-like loin cloth that served as the creature's only garment. "Cupid??"
"Can't be," Spike muttered. "Cupid's a myth."
"Yeah? Well, so are vampires, according to most people," she pointed out. "But Cupid isn't supposed to be *that* small, is he?"
"I'm telling you, ducks, that isn't--" he stopped as the little whatever-it-was suddenly darted toward Willow and stopped a few feet in front of her.
"Bloody hell," the vampire growled as the creature shifted until it was perfectly level with its intended target. "It's the neck..."
Willow squealed as the creature nailed its target and the ruby against her chest suddenly radiated with a power that sent the redhead toppling over onto her rear end. Spike's eyes watered bloody tears as the luminous flash of red light ripped through his eyeballs with an intensity that he could literally hear. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision as the creature zipped through the air and hovered directly over Willow's body, directly over the pendent that still hung around her neck.
Spike growled angrily and flung himself on top of her, ignoring the irritating prickle of a tiny stab on his back as he shielded the little redhead. He grasped the chain of the necklace and ripped it off of her, then leapt to his feet and let it dangle from his fingers.
The creature immediately darted toward the ruby, and Spike's free hand swung out and scooped the annoying intruder out of the air and curled his fingers around it, trapping it inside his fist.
"You okay, baby?" he asked as he reached down to help Willow up off the floor.
She nodded and looked up at him, "Damn, you're good."
He chuckled and headed toward the hallway.
"What are you going to do with them?" she asked, following quickly behind him.
He turned at the bathroom door and stepped inside.
"This," he answered, dropping the pendent into the toilet, where it landed with a small plop. "And this."
He shook his fist and felt the little creature inside tumbling around in the palm of his hand. He opened his hand and flicked the being into the water, then quickly depressed the handle, flushing both the creature and the pendent away. Turning back to Willow, he raised his arms apologetically.
"Sorry, luv. No ruby and no Cupid."
She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Don't need no Cupid."
"No?" he asked and stole a quick kiss from her soft, willing lips.
"No," she whispered, pulling his mouth back down to hers.
"Luv, I just flushed your Valentine's Day present AND Cupid, or a poor demonic excuse for Cupid, anyway, down the loo. You're not in the least bit upset?"
"Do you want me to be?" she asked.
"Well...I was kind of hoping," he admitted.
Her eyebrows shot up, "Why?"
He grinned and pulled her closer to him, "So I could make it up to you."
"Oh," she smiled and shrugged playfully. "Oh, go on. Make it up to me, anyway."
Spike laughed and brushed her hair away from her cheek and bent to take her mouth in a long, deep kiss before scooping her up off the floor and carrying her to the bedroom.
The End
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