11951/The aftermath....again.

The aftermath....again.
Date of Scene:	09 August 2020
Location:	Spike's Sub-Basement, Hugo Building
Synopsis:	Buffy came by to check on Spike and they did their usual dance of what they need to do to carry on being allies and what is and isn't happening between them anymore.
Cast of Characters:	Spike, Buffy Summers

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Spike has posed:
     Things fell through the way they did. Spike made his way home and was visited by Willow for a bit. He's still a little stiff, but the wounds are pretty much sealed up and healed up. He has a bottle of bourbon sitting on the side table and more or less laying down on the couch. Passions is on the television and he doesn't seem to have plans to go anywhere. At least he has on a pair of jeans. They aren't buttoned, but mostly zipped.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers was a bit bruised herself after the epic battle, and she also felt a bit bad for Spike..For a number of reasons. The last time she was here, she simply sneaked in. And so this time she makes a point of pausing by the door and politely knocking.

"Heloo? Spike, you home?" she's brought a six-pack if beer and a few packages of blood. Heck, he can probably smell both through the door. Peace offering perhaps?

Spike has posed:
     "Nadie en casa." he replies, just short of spitting. He's annoyed about her last visit and still stiff from last night. The door isn't locked of course, because what moron would try to sneak into his place. Oh yeah.

     He sighs finally and comments,"It's open." Like she'd really leave once she heard his voice and she was set to come in anyway.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers draws a deep breath before she pushes open the door. She knew he probably didn't want to see her, but if she was going to patch things up..She forces a smile, setting the beers on a nearby table, pulling one out and tossing it to him, grabbing one for herself, "Hey, I got this for you..Let me put these in the fridge, okay?"

She places the rest - the blood, the beer in the fridge before returning, hovering by the sofa, glancing thoughtfully between the tv and Spike. "So..." she sways uncertainly on her feet. "How are you doing? You...Took quite a beating back there..I...I was worried.."

Spike has posed:
     He eyes you as you walk into the apartment, but doesn't look too active. The beer tossed his way is caught and he nods towards the refrigerator. She knows where it is,"Make yourself to home love." he finally replies.

     He lets you hover there for several seconds and the sits up and turns his feet so she can sit down,"I'm about as good as can be expected. I recover faster than even you from most injuries, fire not withstanding."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods slowly in understanding, flashing him a faint smile as she slides rather cautiously towards the sofa to sit down on the other end, staring down at her beer as she opens it carefully. "Look, I just wanted to..Thank you, for helping us out, the other day, we couldn't have done it without you, and...I really am sorry, about breaking in here, deceiving you the other day. You get why I did it..Right?"

She glances towards him then, frowning softly.

Spike has posed:
     He takes a cigarette and lights it as you settle. He exhales away from you at least and he settles some to smoke and talk,"Dawn was in trouble. You know I'll always look after her." he finally replies. He's not letting her off so easy this time.

     "Let me think. You thought it was acceptable to break into my home, more or less physically accost me, cut me off when I try to return the attention, and all this because you are paranoid I might have enough interest to go back to a church to steal a coin. You know a place full of objects that cause me pain or inexplicable fear. Stands to reason."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers frowns a bit, shaking her head, "Look, no matter how hard you're trying to be a 'good guy', there is still a demon inhabiting your body, and the part that remains of 'William Pratt' is little more than memories that a part of you still clings to. I'm sorry if that hurts but it's the truth. And it's the reason why I could never fully trust you, why I could never lo--.."

She sighs, shuffling a bit closer to him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? even if I did the wrong thing for the right reasons..I took advantage of you, and that was wrong of me. I'm sorry.." as she looks at him, there is sadness in her eyes as if she truly meant it.

"And for the record, it means a lot to me that you kept Dawn safe while we took care of the threat. I just.. Can't we just start over?"

Spike has posed:
     Another slow drag and he exhales again,"Face it love. I'm not the good guy. Never will be. It won't matter if I fight to the death and drop to dust defending your sister and I'll still be the bad guy. I know my story. I told it to you." he starts out.

     He takes another drag and exhales before he finally comments,"All right. Sorry and move on. If you need me to help take care of Dawn you'll always know where I am. Bygones and all that." he finishes,"We'll have to start again. The only other option is for me to leave the city again and it's not in my plans. Next time you want something cut the bull shit and tell me to my face." A little rough at the end.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers shakes her head, letting her hand drop, "I...I really don't know. I know you're trying, you've done good things, you've protected people I care about, put your life on the line countless times. I get that! Really, I do. I...I dont even know why.lNo maybe I do, maybe I'm just afraid that the moment your chip malfunctions, or you find a way to get it out...The first thing you'll do is try and kill me."

She nods slowly, chancing a glance back at him as he talks if leaving again. "I...Really hope you dont leave again. We need you. *I* need you. And it's not just to be a footsoldier.." she hangs her head again, staring into her beer wordlessly.

Spike has posed:
     "If you think the first thing I'll do is kill you the first time I get the chance then I think we've reached a situation neither of us can meet in the middle." he replies,"I am what I am so either you need to stake me, I need to leave, or you're going to have to accept that I care about you and your sister. I get you'll never love me the way I love you or accept that I do love you. Starting over is..." he considers,"...what do the nerds call it? Hard restart?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods slowly, taking a very loooong swig of her beer. "I know. It is what it is..I guess we'll just have to do the best we can and at least try to trust each other. How hard can that be?" she does flinch when he so casually uses the L-word, as if a soulless vampire could ever truly understand what that's like, but there's nothing she can really do about it.

"How about a soft reset? It's not like we're deleting the hard drive and starting from a clean reinstallstion. We're just..Rebooting a frozen blue screen of death and continuing where we left off without the software crash, sneaking around...Dishonesty. Threats. I think we can manage that.."

She smiles softly, glancing at him. "I hope that..Maybe someday day you can find someone who can freely love you in return..And I hope we can one day become friends and gets past all of this."

Spike has posed:
     He takes another drag and exhales, putting the cigarette finally. A sigh because he knew those were wasted words,"We'll start over then. No more games. I'll quit pining for your attention and affections and you stay out of it if I find someone else. Regardless? Agreed? No best of both worlds stuff.

     He leans against the back of the couch again and considers the last of it,"We'll start with allies and see if friends becomes a thing. I'm not against it I just don't know that either one of us will live up to the idea of us being friends. I'm as guilty as you can be."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles softly, "It's funny, before you left..We grew Kinda..Close. Nearly became..I dunno.." she sighs, still remembering the honest kiss she allowed of him, even if it was quickly covered up.."Then you left, came back, left..I moved on." but even so, she never really allowed herself to truly trust him, even if she came close a few times. His fling with an evil cat woman didn't help matters either.

But that line of thinking isn't gonna do either of them any good. She's moved on, and even if Thomas' job keeps him busy a lot, still she's moved on. She's in love with someone else and happy. Mostly. Buffy finishes the rest of her beer and rises to her feet.

"It's late, I should go, but.l'm glad we had a chance to talk."

Spike has posed:

     "The past is past. We'll move on." he comments and watches as you plan to get go again. He doesn't comment on some things, like seeing how Thomas worked her during her hypnosis. Not touching that,"You know where to find me if you need me to watch little sister again."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods and smiles faintly as she reaches the door. Oh she's sure seeing her and Thomas make out on that level of a literal white court feeding in front of him didn't help matters either. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Let's definitely not go there, Nope nope.

"Thank you, Spike..Good night." she bows her head and just like that, she slips out and is gone.