Title : Stormy Nights
Author: Carla Laurelle
Email: LuckyUone9@aol.com
Summary: set in alternate season 4 . Buffy gets a surprise visitor during a
huge thunderstorm. Wackiness ensues.
Disclaimer: I don't own BTVS , blah blah blah, I don't get paid for my fic ,
blah blah blah, please don't sue or anything , blah blah blah. We've all
heard it before .
Distribution: Anywhere:-) Just inform me first and it's yours.
Spoilers: Season 4 implied.
Rating: R for language and stuff.
Feedback: Yes please. LOTS of it .
Dedication: To my fear of thunderstorms , may you rest in peace. And to my
mother who had to pry my fingers off with a crowbar during thunderstorms : I
love you for putting up with me.
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Another bolt of lightning flashed, followed closely by a loud clap of
thunder, caused Buffy to jump slightly. It had been storming all day and gave
no signs of stopping as nightfall set in .
She took a deep breath . "Get it together", she mumbled to herself. She
curled up deeper under the soft comforter on the couch and tried to turn her
attention back to the book she was reading .
Since it was raining non-stop, Giles had given her permission to take the
night off from slaying . Normally she would have used the time to do the
'mother daughter bonding' thing with her mom except that she was out of town
on a business trip . The *one* night that Sunnydale wasn't so sunny and she
was left alone in her house. Great.
More thunder sounded as rain pelted against the windows . She nervously
glanced outside at the trees as they bended under the strain from the strong
winds .
Ever since she was a child, storms had terrified her. She used to cling to
her mother while they raged outside . Once, a lightening bolt struck a tree
in their front yard , sending it crashing against the house. She got better
as she got older. Storms still scared her a little...okay *alot* , but after
living through things like vampires and demons--storms where the least of her
problems .
Putting her book down, Bufy stood and began making her way towards the
kitchen. She was in the mood for popcorn and a movie , just the thing to calm
her nerves .
If she didn't watch 'Twisters' that is .
Putting the bag of popcorn in the microwave, she hit start and sat down to
wait .
The doorbell rang .
Immediately on alert , she cautiously stood and peered down the hall towards
the front door . Willow and Xander were on vacation with Xander's parents and
she was pretty sure Giles would never stop by without calling first-he was
way too politely British to drop by unannounced.
Lightening flashed, illuminating the dark hallway . The doorbell rang again ,
followed closely by loud pounding on the door .
"This is exactly how horror movies start", she muttered as she padded down
the hall .
Opening the door she looked at the figure in surprise .
Spike stood before her looking very much like a drowned rat .
His clothes were soaked through, while water dripped from his short, bleached
locks . A puddle of it pooled around him on the porch beneath where he stood
. He shivered slightly from the cold .
Buffy giggled as she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame .
"Let me guess...you finally admitted to yourself that you smell, and needed
to take a shower, so you decided to take a stroll through the storm of the
century".
"Bugger off".
She rolled her eyes at his idiotic statement. Here he was standing on *her*
porch , dripping with water in the middle of a storm , and *he* was telling
*her* to 'bugger off'? Whatever 'bugger' meant.
"Spike, what are you doing here?"
Spike shifted uncomfortably. He shuffled from one foot to the other as he
tried to find something to say.
"Well I just...wanted to...see..."
"Spit it out, I'm getting wet", Buffy said , taking a step back to avoid
getting splashed with more rain.
If they could have , Spike's cheeks would have reddened at the mental image
that statement brought up. Buffy wet. Buffy's glistening silky skin, dripping
with water andNo! He shoved the images away.
"I was just..."
Buffy tapped her foot and cocked an eyebrow.
"Worried", he mumbled , the word almost un-recognizable. He stared down at
the ground in what seemed to Buffy like a gesture of embarrassment . At
least, it would have been if she thought he was capable of embarrassment.
"Come again?", she teased . She heard what he had said, she just like to
watch him squirm .
Spike rolled his eyes and pulled himself up as much as he could . "I. Was.
Worried.", he ground out through clenched teeth .
"Aww", Buffy cooed . "Poor wittle Spikey was worried about me", she stuck out
her lower lip in a pout.
"Fuck you", he shook his head as he turned to leave . If she wanted to be
immature about it, that was fine with him.
"Wait", Buffy grabbed his arm to pull him back . "I'm sorry, I just couldn't
resist making fun".
"You've got a lot to learn about manners little one", he jabbed his finger at
her , trying to regain some of his dignity .
She smiled slightly at him as she stepped aside in order to allow him in .
Walking briskly past her , he stepped into the foyer , still dripping wet .
"Yuck", Buffy made a face . "You're gonna have to get out of those wet
clothes if you're gonna be in *this* house".
Again Spike had to push back the mental images that bombarded him at her
off-handed comment .
"And what do you expect me to wear?", he asked casually.
"Wait here", Buffy answered . She headed up the stairs and disappeared around
the corner once she reached the top . Coming back a few minutes later , she
tossed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to him. "Put these on and give me
your wet clothes . You can change in the bathroom over there", she pointed
down the hall towards a door on the right .
Spike glared at her slightly as he pushed past her and made his way towards
the door she had indicated . After changing out of his wet clothes and into
the ones she had given him , which surprisingly fit rather well , he came out
and handed her the wet ones .
"I'll be right back", she called as she hurried down the stairs into the
basement . Coming back , she closed the door and moved to stand next to him
again . "I put your clothes in the dryer . They should be done in about a
half an hour".
Spike curiously inspected the new clothes he was wearing . "Where did you get
these?"
Buffy smiled . "They're for you"
He looked at her with utter surprise written on his face at her casual
statement .
"Mom got them . She keeps them here for you just in case you ever had to stay
the night here or something".
Spike couldn't help but feel even more respect for the Slayer's mum . Ever
since he had come back to help the Slayer , Joyce and him had grown fond of
each other . They would sit and talk sometimes , often over a cup of hot
cocoa , and discuss everything from literature, to art, to the way Buffy
could be annoying at times . And now she had gone and done something so
considerate as to keep extra clothes for him at her house.
Buffy walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch .
"So...you're here cause you were worried about me", she said conversationally
. She had learned to get along with Spike rather well since he had joined her
side . He could be pig-headed sometimes , then again , so could she, but she
kind of enjoyed his company . Of course she was never going to tell *him*
that .
"Thats right", he answered simply . Taking a seat next to her on the couch ,
he propped his feet up on the coffee table . If he was going to be there ,
then he was going to be comfortable .
She could tell she wasn't going to get anything out of him unless she prodded
. It wasn't like Spike to brave a horrendous storm because it was 'worried'
about her. He knew she was staying in, so unless some big baddie was in town
she couldn't see any reason he should worry.
"Any particular reason why? I mean...there's not some new baddie in town or
anything , right?"
He shook his head . "No".
"Oh", she said . The room was filled with silence . Buffy let her gaze wander
around the room before she tried again . "So you were just...worried".
"Yup".
She raised her eyebrows and waited for him to continue .
He rolled his eyes . "I thought you might be...frightenedyou know, by the
storm".
Buffy snorted a laugh . "Me? Scared of a storm? Never happen".
No sooner had she gotten her words out when a flash of lightening and a crash
of thunder struck simultaniously . Buffy jumped and instinctively grabbed
onto his arm and hugged it tightly , much as she used to do with her mother .

"Never happen , eh?"he taunted .
"Shut-up", she grumbled , letting go of his arm and scooting down the couch
to sulk .
"Now now , no need to get testy", he said .
She shot him a glance . "How did you know that I was scared of storms?"
He hesitated a moment before answering . "Your mum told me".
Buffy rolled her eyes . Her mother *really* needed to learn how to keep her
mouth shut .
"I hate to think about what else she told you", she mumbled off-handedly.
A cruel smile lifted the corners of his lips . "Whats this I hear about you
stuffing..what was it? Money--in your diapers when you were a wee thing?".
Buffy's eyes widened as she sat bolt upright . Her mother loved to whip out
the most embarrassing stories she could think of about Buffy's childhood when
she had company. "She told you that!"
Spike was laughing uncontrollably now .
She grabbed a pillow and began hitting him with it . "I was two years old ,
and it was always just lying around the house". She punctuated each word with
a slap of the pillow .
Spike batted the pillow away before commenting ."It makes me wonder what kind
of a career is in your future", he winked slyly.
Buffy playfully threw the pillow at his head . "I am *not* going to be a
stripper. You wish".
"But you'd be so good at it , luv"
"Oh you'd just *love* to see that wouldn't you?", she sneered .
"You know it", he teased . This was nice . Occasionally , though not often
but occasionally , he and the Slayer would act as if they had known each
other all their lives . They would tease , and argue, and play, and talk till
their hearts content . And he dared not admit that he actually enjoyed these
moments far more than he should , being a demon and all . He had a rep to
protect.
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him . Two could play at this game .
"So whats this I hear about you having a passion for trashy romance novels".
Spike immediately stopped laughing . "She told you that!"
"One thing you gotta learn about my mom--she can never keep her mouth shut",
Buffy answered , smiling from ear to ear .
"If you tell anyone...", he threatened . He could only imagine the annoying
taunts that whelp, Xander, would make if he found out.
"Your secret is safe with me", she winked . Who would have thought that one
of the most violent , dispicable , hated , and feared vampire masters in the
world had a weakness for reading trashy romance novels .
The room fell silent again , but it was more of a comfortable silence than a
tense one .
"Do you wanna watch a movie?", Buffy asked finally ."I was about to start one
when you came banging on my door". She felt better about the storm now that
she wasn't alone anymore . And she was still in the mood for that popcorn and
a movie .
"Only if I get to pick it", he answered with a smile .
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Buffy entered the room carrying a bowl of popcorn . "So, what are we
watching?"
Spike glanced up from the t.v. before returning his attention back to the
screen . "Scream", he dead-panned.
She rolled her eyes. "I should have guessed that it would be something with
lots of terror, screaming, and blood".
Spike shrugged. "You know me".
"You know...you should really try to curb your violent tendancies".
"Where would the fun in that be?"
Deciding not to answer him, she curled up on the couch and settled to watch
the film. It wasn't that bad of a movie, she had really only seen it once,
and even then she hadn't really paid attention at all . Besides, Skeet Ulrich
was kind of cute.
On the screen , Drew Barrymore's character was already being stalked by the
killer.
"Oh come on...the movie's been going on for five minutes and they're already
going to kill her off?", she asked incredulously. "I thought she was a main
character".
"Just watch and be quiet, Slayer", Spike said, not taking his eyes off the
t.v.
A few minutes later , a shot of the boyfriend with his guts spilled out all
over the place filled the screen .
"Now *thats* entertainment", Spike laughed , pointing at the screen.
Buffy had a look of disgust . "I can't believe you're enjoying this. Its bad
enough I have to see stuff like that in real life without watching the
make-believe version".
Spike turned towards her and shook his head . "You seem to forget what I am ,
pet".
"I didn't forget...I just misplaced", she pouted .
"Whatever", he turned back towards the t.v. as the movie went on .
After about a half an hour of total silence , Buffy couldn't hold in her
comments any longer .
"Okay...these are the stupidest people I have ever seen".
Spike rolled his eyes again . "What now?"
"Well for one thing none of them can fight worth a damn , and if that was me
the killer was stalking, he would be knocked on his ass in two seconds".
"I thought you couldn't kill humans, luv", Spike teased .
"I can't kill them...that doesn't mean I can't cause them severe bodily
harm", she corrected him .
"My kind of woman", he answered absently as he continued to watch the movie.
Buffy turned and stared at him . It was a casual statement , but for some
reason it had sent a thrill through her that she had never really felt with
him before . Okay , so she had felt it for him before , but that wasn't
something she was going to admit . Or the fact that she's been feeling it
more often than not lately .
Okay, so Spike wasn't bad looking. Who was she kidding , he was brutally hot!
A definite Baldwin. But he was also just a friend, right? Like Xander , or Oz
. Just a friend .
Spike turned his head towards her and she quickly averted her gaze ,
instead--pretending to concentrate intently on the movie . But Spike had
caught the stare.
Sothe Slayer was interested in him . He could handle that. After all, he was
interested in her too. More than interested actually...it was more like he
lusted after her. Of course she didn't know any of this, and he made a mental
note never to tell Joyce either. She was the Slayer , he was a vampire. Their
kind just didn't mix, as she had painfully found out with the whole Angel
incident . The poor thing . That poof was never good enough for her anyway.
He was too broody. Buffy needed someone with a little life to them. Okay, so
he was , technically, dead, but that obviously didn't bother her before.
Buffy glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and caught him staring . He
quickly looked away and focused his attention on the t.v.
She smiled lightly .
Before she knew it , the movie was over. Buffy stood up and popped the tape
out of the vcr and put it back in its case. "What now?", she asked.
Spike glanced out the window and saw that the storm still raged outside.
Turning back towards her, he got a devilish glint in his eye.
Buffy didn't like it.
"What?", she asked cautiously.
"Nothing, luv", he shrugged. "I just remembered something else your mum told
me".
"Oh no", she whispered, backing away from him.
"Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle", he chanted , wiggling his fingers at
her as he edged closer.
With a gleeful squeal , Buffy got up and dashed out of the living room with
Spike in close pursuit.

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Cautiously, she peered around the corner . Somewhere in her flight from
Spike's tormenting fingers he had disappeared. This was never a good sign .
It reminded her too much of the times her father would chase her around the
house trying to tickle her. She would stop running to see that he had
disappeared, only to be caught by surprise when he jumped at her from around
the corner.
The lights cut out.
Buffy gasped as the entire house was cloaked in darkness. The adrenaline and
anticipation began to build within her . So, Spike wanted to play games did
he? She was more than happy to play along .
She pressed herself against the wall and began to tip-toe towards the rear of
the house. The last time she saw him , Spike had been in pursuit of her near
the front of the house , and if he managed to shut the power off then he had
to be in the basement where the circuit box was . She was going to sneak up
on him.
Moving silently past the kitchen , she glanced inside to find it empty. Going
forward , she slowly made her way towards the door to the basement , half
expecting it to pop open at any minute .
It didn't.
When she finally made it to the door , she quickly glanced around her to make
sure Spike wasn't going to suddenly jump around the corner or anything . When
she didn't find him , she eased the door open slowly, trying not to make it
creak .
More lightening illuminated the house for a few moments before seconds later
thunder shook the floor boards . Buffy licked her lips and attempted to slow
down her racing heart . Now she was a little scared , and she wanted to find
Spike fast . The only problem was that Spike was scaring her too , and she
wasn't sure it was the best idea to go running into his arms since his only
intention was to tickle her mercilessly .
Slipping through the door , she began to descend into the dark basement . She
heard a muffled noise in the corner of the room and halted her steps . After
several beats of silence , she began to descend once more .
Lightening flashed again as more rain began to fall . The noise began to
drown out her own heavy breathing. This wasn't funny anymore , she was really
scared now and she wanted to find Spike regardless of the tickle factor .
"Spike?", she tentatively called out. She had reached the bottom of the
stairs and stood stock still , listening for any kind of noise to give away
his location . She heard nothing . "Come on Spike , you're scaring me".
She moved slowly into the room , fidgeting nervously . This wasn't fun at all
.
Out of the blackness a hand grabbed her roughly from behind , covering her
mouth . "Boo", a harsh voice said into her ear .
Buffy muffled a scream before bringing her leg up behind her , effectively
kicking her attacker in the family jewels.
"Oh fuck!". He immediately dropped her and hunched over , protecting his
manhood from further injury .
Buffy whirled around , heart racing , just as another flash of lightning lit
up the room . She saw Spike doubled over , his hands between his legs as he
began to curse profanely to no one in particular .
"Well it serves you right", she said , placing her hands on her hips. "You
shouldn't scare a Slayer like that".
"It was a joke", he defended , his face slightly flushed from being kicked
that hard in the balls .
"Do you see me laughing?"
Spike looked at her for a moment before attempting to straighten himself . He
made a mental note to never frighten the Slayer in the dark again ,
especially from behind .
Buffy watched him and cringed slightly . "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"
Spike laughed hoarsly. "Just a bit, luv. But you can be sure I'll never do
*that* again".
"Come on", she offered him her hand . "Lets go get some hot cocoa".
Spike felt better already . He quickly turned the power back on and began to
follow the Slayer up the stairs, admiring her from behind .
"Stop that", he heard her voice say without turning around .
"What?", he asked innocently .
"Looking at my butt".
"Who said I was looking at your bum , Slayer?", he scoffed .
She stopped at the top of the steps and turned around , her hands and her
hips and one eye-brow cocked .
Spike shrugged . "Well you can't blame a bloke".
She giggled and turned to leave . The minute she turned around , Spike went
right back to what he was doing before he was so rudely interrupted .
"I saw that", she giggled .
"Saw what , luv?", Spike feigned ignorance .
She made her way into the kitchen mumbling something about horny demons .
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