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Plagued--Why Us? Series - Flaming Reptiles -- by Ruby
Rating: PG-13
Description: Willow and Spike arrive a little too late to help Buffy slay a Demon, sequel to In the Pink.
Note: Dedication -- For Ali, who sent the suggestion.:-)
Disclaimer: Joss owns all.
Spike scowled as Buffy and Willow entered the cemetery. She had insisted on meeting Willow at her apartment to come here tonight. The blonde vampire knew what the slayer was up to. She had glued herself to his redhead's side every evening for the past two weeks. Her attempts to uncover any morsel of information about Willow's mysterious boyfriend were far from subtle, but Willow had been stubbornly uncooperative.
The two women stopped as Spike stepped out of the shadows. Willow's green eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she looked over at him apprehensively. She realized how annoyed he was becoming with Buffy's game. Spike had only managed to see her alone for fifteen minutes, and that had been an entire week ago, before Buffy had appeared at the door of the Bronze.
"I think you must have got it wrong," Spike all but sneered at the slayer. "I've been here for thirty minutes, and there's been no sign of any demon."
"He'll be here," Buffy shrugged and looked around. "Where's Xander?"
"How the hell should I know?" Spike snapped.
Buffy raised an eyebrow and turned cool eyes on him, "Get up on the wrong side of the coffin?"
Willow looked from her friend to her lover, her eyes silently pleading with Spike to be reasonable. The glance he returned was anything but.
"Hi, guys," Xander's voice cut through the darkness behind them.
"Where's the slimeball we're supposed to be fighting?"
"He hasn't shown up yet," Buffy answered. "I guess we should split up and look for him."
"Okay," he nodded. "But _I'm_ not going with Fangboy."
Spike tensed, his eyes flashing angrily, and Willow stayed the hand that instinctively moved to touch his arm.
"I'll go with Spike," she offered.
"Right," Buffy nodded. "You two go that way. Xander and I will go this way. If you find 'Slimeball,' yell."
Spike turned on his heel and stormed off between the headstones, and Willow hurried to catch up to him.
"Don't be angry," she asked softly.
He looked down at her, his impatience clearly etched on his face, but he slowed his pace to allow her to fall into step beside him.
"Two bloody weeks," he grumbled. "I'm going to force-feed the slayer a handful of her own stakes if she doesn't stop dragging you off to play 20 Questions."
"She's just curious," Willow replied.
"She's a prying bitch," he muttered. "I swear, if this continues, I'm going to answer her questions myself."
"You can't!" Willow argued. "Please, Spike! You know what kind of problems that would cause."
He stopped walking as she grabbed his arm, and he turned to look down at her. She released his arm and rubbed her hand over her forehead, and his expression softened.
"We're supposed to be looking for a demon," she murmured.
"You found him," he answered and pulled her against his hard body.
Willow's arms went around his neck as their lips met and devoured one another's ravenously.
"Damn it, Willow. I've missed you," he whispered into her ear.
She hugged him close to her, resting her head on his chest, "I know. Me, too."
He rubbed her back soothingly and tucked a finger under her chin to raise her head for another deep kiss.
"Please, don't tell Buffy about us," she begged, brushing her lips over his.
"I won't, pet," he promised. "But I'm not waiting another week to get you alone. If she keeps this up, I won't have to tell her. I'll jump your sweet body right in front of her."
Willow grinned, "Another week, and I just might let you. Come on; let's go demon hunting."
He nodded and folded his hand around hers. They circled through the cemetery and came upon Buffy and Xander, who were studying the ground at their feet.
"Where the hell were you two?" Buffy shouted. "I could've used your help!"
Willow looked down at the lumpy, purple goo spreading over the grass, "Is that our demon?"
"What's left of him," she nodded. "Xander's hurt."
"It isn't bad," he assured them, holding his hand over a bloody gash on his forearm. "I'll be okay."
Willow went to him and studied the wound, "You should get this taken care of."
"I'll take him to Giles' place," Buffy nodded. "Spike, could you walk Willow home?"
The vampire nodded casually, but Willow caught the faint grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. Buffy and Xander walked off, and Willow took Spike's hand to step around the mass of goo.
Her hand suddenly gripped hard onto his as she hissed, "Spike, this purple gunk is--slithering!"
His gaze followed hers, and his eyes widened as a myriad of little, thin snakes wriggled up through the goo. Willow felt his arm wrap around her as he quickly scrambled behind her.
"Bloody hell, Willow," he moaned.
She stepped backward, bumping into him as he clung to her. His other arm went around her and clutched her in a death-grip.
"Shit!" he hissed as a snake slithered over his boot. "Willow, _do_ something!"
She looked around at him, staring in disbelief at the shaking vampire. "Spike?"
"Listen, ducks. For you, it's frogs. For me--"
"Snakes," she nodded.
She tried not to giggle as he vaulted up onto the top of a headstone and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders as the snakes covered the ground and crept over the redhead's feet.
"Give me your lighter," she ordered.
The vampire was frozen, his eyes fixed to the creatures writhing over one another. Willow plunged her hand into his pocket and pulled out his lighter. Fishing a tissue from her own pocket, she lit it and tossed it to the ground. The snakes around her vanished in a crackling flame. Willow stepped forward and repeated the action, tossing burning tissues into the midst of the snakes until the last of them were gone.
She returned to the headstone upon which the vampire was crouched and put her hand on his arm.
"All gone," she told him.
"You sure?" he asked, his eyes scanning the ground.
"I'm sure," she laughed. "Get off of there, you big, evil, nasty vampire."
He glared at her and jumped down off his perch. He pasted himself to her side, and she wound an arm around his waist.
"Big baby," she giggled with a shake of her head.
"Hey! I didn't tease you when you went catatonic over those frogs!" he protested.
"I'm sorry," she replied, still grinning widely. "It's just, well, you're a big, strong vampire. I'm just--me."
"You're bloody wonderful," he corrected her. "I've always detested snakes, ever since I was a little kid and one of them crawled through my bedroom window and curled up on my bed in the middle of the night. Let's get the hell out of here."
Her fingers laced through his as Spike tried to suppress a shudder, and they left the cemetery behind them.
"Uh, pet, let's not tell anyone else about my little phobia," he suggested.
"We'll add it to our list of secrets," she agreed.
He ran his fingers through her hair and stopped walking, pulling her around and into his arms to kiss her.
"We can go back to my place and add a few more secrets to that list," he whispered. "I could use a warm body to hold onto tonight, after--that."
"Oh, yeah? Just any warm body?" she teased.
"No, baby, only one," he assured her. "Only yours."
She flashed him a delighted smile that melted his dead heart, and he latched onto her hand.
"You told Buffy you'd walk me home, remember?" she said.
"Yeah, but I didn't say whose home," he grinned, placing a kiss on her head before pulling her off down the street.
The End
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