A/N: As promised, the next (and less angsty!) chapter. It’s also long :). The next chapter is pure fluff, which I’m sure you want so, read and leave a review!
Cocktail
Chapter 17
Spike was walking quickly toward the Bronze from the convenience store. The stupid clerk could not count money to save his life, and the line was a mile long, so it took him way longer to get his smokes than planned. He was trying to make it on time for his gig, knowing that he can’t blow this job. Knowing that the alley was the best way to take to get to the Bronze the quickest, Spike headed that way. He knew it wasn’t the smartest place to be at night, but hey, he was the Big Bad, he could handle it. Stopping short when he got to the entrance way of the alley, Spike felt like his heart was shattering into a million pieces. Buffy was pushed up against the wall, her body held intimately by another guy’s. ‘Another guy’s,’ Spike thought. ‘And it’s not even Angel’s.’ He didn’t know what to do. Of course Spike realized he was invading their privacy, even though they were in public, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene. Some bulky guy was cupping Buffy’s breast, and his hand was trailing down the side of her face. Spike watched for a few moments longer, before telling himself that he was leaving now.
Spike’s eyes widened in surprise for a millisecond before they turned almost black with anger. That guy had slapped Buffy. Slapped her, and hard. ‘He laid a hand on my girl!’ Spike’s brain was angrily telling him. His heart shattered this time for a different reason. Now that he looked closer, he saw that Buffy wasn’t enjoying it. Her face was a sketch of pain. Silently making his way through the alley, as to not alert them with his footsteps, Spike was seeing red. He knew rushing in there too fast would get Buffy hurt, or possibly himself; this guy was larger than him, but Spike knew that anger was fueling him now, and he could take him. He had to try, it was Buffy he was attacking for goodness sake.
Staying in the shadows, Spike was a few yards away, and could now hear the conversation.
“Riley, please let me go,” Buffy asked him, pleading to him with her emerald eyes that were drowning in unshed tears. Spike grew even angrier when he could read how scared Buffy was through the tone of her voice. She was hiding it pretty nicely though, obviously not wanting to show him weakness. Something else that got on Spike’s nerves was that she knew this asshole.
“Yeah, right,” Riley laughed, raising his hand to backhand her again for wanting to get away from him.
Spike decided enough was enough, there was no way this lunkhead was going to hurt Buffy one second longer. This was the opportune moment. Stepping out of the shadows, Spike grabbed Riley’s raised hand before he cold hit Buffy. Holding it tight enough at the wrist to cut the circulation to his hand, Spike spoke up.
“I believe the lady asked you to let her go mate, so I suggest you do it.”
Riley was shocked, someone else had the nerve to walk down this alley at the middle of the night? And they were standing up against him? Being shocked soon turned into being pissed off that someone interrupted his time with Buffy. Releasing her, he spun around and used his free hand to try to lay a punch on Spike.
Spike saw this coming, and quickly ducked. Sure this guy who he heard Buffy call Riley was taller than him by a good 4 inches, and had to weigh way more than he did, but Spike knew he was faster.
“Who the hell are you? You’re interrupting my time with my girl,” Riley yelled at Spike.
Spike didn’t back down from Riley’s angry gaze. “I don’t believe the girl wanted it you git. And by the way she was talking, I don’t think she was your girl either.”
“You asshole!” Riley yelled, aiming a uppercut at Spike’s jaw, which Spike quickly dodged and in return sent a roundhouse kick to Riley’s torso, smiling when the wind was knocked out of Riley. Riley bent over and grasped his stomach, trying to catch his breath.
Buffy finally realized that Riley was off of her, and opened her eyes. Tears overflowed from her eyes rapidly, but not for pain. Instead, they were for joy. The joy of seeing Spike, which is not what she thought she would feel if she saw him tonight. Realizing that he would take care of her, and that she was safe, she fell to the ground, trying to get over what almost happened tonight. She didn’t question or think twice about how she felt the safest when she was around Spike, and how she knew he would take care of her. She was too frightened and overwhelmed to think about that.
While Riley was hunched over, Spike grabbed the back of his head by his hair and brought his head down hard to his knee. Satisfied when he heard a crunch and felt a bone break against his knee, Spike swept Riley’s legs out from underneath of him, causing Riley to land hard on his back against the cold ground. Giving him one more swift kick in the ribs, Spike knew he had dismantled Riley for now. Grabbing his cell out of his back pack, he quickly called Sunnydale’s finest demanding that someone get to the alley immediately to arrest Riley. Checking on Riley one more time to make sure he wasn’t getting up, Spike was satisfied when he saw he was down for a while. Moving quickly, Spike made his way to Buffy’s side.
“Buffy, pet, are you alright?” Spike asked her, cringing at how stupid that question was; he knew that she clearly wasn’t.
But instead, Buffy surprised him with her answer. Looking him straight in the eye she told him, “I am now.”
Spike’s eyes couldn’t hide his surprise from her, but his relief shown through more heavily. He smiled and his chest puffed out slightly with pride when he realized that Buffy is not a victim, she’s a survivor. Something like this would stay with her for the rest of her life, but he knew that she wouldn’t let it get the best of her.
Helping her up, he brushed the dirt off the back of her dress. He grabbed her hand, and pulled her behind him, away from the wall, and away from Riley. Feeling a tug on his hand hard enough to stop his walking, Spike turned around to look at Buffy with a question gaze. She let go of his hand, and turned to walk back a few steps to look down at Riley.
“Buffy, honey-,” Riley tried pleading with her through the pain.
“Don’t you Buffy-honey me you asshole,” Buffy glared at Riley. “I’m not your Buffy. As a matter of fact, I’m a piece of ass to you, and that’s about it. But more important than that, you’re nothing to me. Nothing. You’re a piece of shit, and I hope you enjoy your new life- in prison.” Finishing her speech and feeling better than she had in years, ever since Riley first stole her virginity, Buffy ended everything that they ever had with a kick as powerful as she could muster to his balls. Spike couldn’t help but flinch at the power she put behind that kick.
Hearing Riley whine in pain and agony, Buffy couldn’t help but smile. She was free again. Free to live her life without the fear of Riley or the guilt and pain of what he did. And she had one person to thank for that- Spike.
Sirens tore her attention away from Riley. Looking at Spike she reached her hand out towards him. Grasping her tiny hand in his larger one, Spike looked at her with a question but comforting gaze, clearly telling her that it was her choice. “I want to go home Spike,” Buffy answered him.
Spike nodded, not being able to deny this girl anything. “But first I need to tell Dawn that I’m not going to stay and hang at the Bronze.”
“Alright luv, anything you want. I need to tell Willy that I’m not going to be able to perform tonight either. I’ll take you home as soon as we’re both done, alright?”
Somewhere in the back of Buffy’s mind she registered that Spike was performing tonight, and that Dawn had to know that, which is why she chose tonight to get Buffy to go to the Bronze. She ignored the thought and realized what Spike did for her tonight. “Thank you Spike. I don’t even want to think what he would’ve done to me if you didn’t show up,” Buffy thanked him as they walked toward the Bronze.
“Don’t luv. I wasn’t going to just sit around and let something happen to you. I’ll protect you to the end of the world and back. Every night I’ll save you,” Spike told her, honesty shining out of his eyes and dripping off of each of his words, showing his sincerity.
“Thank you. I owe you my life.”
Spike turned Buffy to look at him outside of the Bronze entrance. “You owe me nothing. I did what any guy should’ve done, and what most guys would’ve done. You’re a special girl Buffy. You’re full of life, and you have this spark, that no one I’ve ever met has. I don’t want to see some unworthy ponce take that away from you.”
Buffy’s heart swelled at his words, but her mind kept telling her tonight was a night to prove that she didn’t need a guy- and Riley helped push that along. ‘Oh screw it,’ She decided. ‘Just for now, let me lean on someone else.’ She looked in the distance and saw Riley in handcuffs being forced into a police car. ‘God knows I need Spike’s strength. But just for now.’
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TBC!
Review please :). Next chapter is pure fluff, with Spuffy goodness. It’s already written too!
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