7867/They Burned Witches Don'tcha Know

They Burned Witches Don'tcha Know
Date of Scene:	13 June 2019
Location:	Caernarvon, Avalon
Synopsis:	Spike brings Willow another gift. They share an awkward (sorta) kiss and part ways, Willow more confused than ever. Why can't we all just be friends?
Cast of Characters:	Willow Rosenberg, Spike

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Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Both Spike and Oz returning to Willow's life at the same time was something of a curiosity, and something more of a.. oh gosh, what if they both meet up at the same time and I'm there?? Not that Willow was dating Spike, or looking to, but there had been that little thing in high school.. and she still was feeling out what she and Oz were now. And why was life so gosh darn complicated? Where was Buffy when you really needed her? She'd make sense of it all.

AT least John hadn't taken away the book Spike had given her - which was a possibility given Spike /was/ a vampire, and Willow /had/ been showing an alarming tendancy to look temptation in the face and say 'yes please' of late (there were extenuating circumstances!).

Still, he'd decided the book was innocuous enough and left it with his protege, which is how Willow can be found on this slightly overcast afternoon, sitting underneath a tree, reading that very book.

Spike has posed:
There's a few things about Spike that are a constant. One. He's a vampire. Two. He's absolutely not totally evil. He can't bite Willow. Or hurt her. Thanks, chip. Three. He actually....genuinely, likes Willow. She was a thing in high school. And he still cares for her. It's why he got her a book. And tonight,he's in the park to relax. He's laying back on the grass and got his hands behind his head, looking up at the stars as he nods to Willow and smiles. He can't really help it...Willow matters, as Spike sits up and gets to his feet. he slides a hand into his pocket and pulls out a pentacle necklace. "Willow?" he asks hesitantly and comes over with his other hand out to show he's got nothing in it. "I wasn't expecting you to be here" he says sounding shy. "I..I..."

He shoots himself in the foot. "I got you this. Because I saw it and thought you'd appreciate it. It's a pentacle necklace. You had one in high school" Spike says. he's doing his best not to outdo Xander in the being an idiot around women department. Still...Spike's supposed to be this ultra confident, ultra badass vampire. Yet he's tripping over his words. "See. I...I...saw it and thought of you and how you like your pagan things" Spike says, holding the necklace out as he pulls out a set of tarot cards. "I got these earlier" he says. The fact they got his smudge fingerprints on them leave no doubt that he 'borrowed' them from a house. "I had to be careful though?B?# he nods. "I thought they would suit you" Spike adds, stuttering over ver his words. "Because...because you're a pagan and...and...tech..tehcno pgan and t...tarot " Spike says finally falling quiet. If she's going to zap him...he's opening himself way up. Maybe this is how it happens.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
There's a slightly guilty startle from Willow who, lost in deep bookish thoughts, didn't even notice that she had company. Cue one guilty startle and the accompanying blush. A blush that only deepens when she realizes who it is, and brings with it a delightful fluster as a sidekick as she blinks at Spike, "You got me another gift?" Two gifts. Two meetings. What had she done to deserve this? Her mind quickly considering - and discarding - the notion that perhaps one of her spells had gone entirely wrong and completely right at the same time.

The pentacle.. well, it is Willow. The thing eyed while Willow holds her breath and tries to decide hwo long is long enough before snatching the thing up, or if she's supposed to decline the gift - it is Spike after all. Though, it /is/ Spike after all, and no matter what everyone else said, she knew deep down there was a heart in there. It might not be beating, but it was there, and he wouldn't hurt her.

"You don't have to bring me gifts every time you want to say hello," Willow says softly be way of compromise, reaching out to finger the delicate thing on its chain. "Oh, wow, this is beautiful. I bet it cost a lot." Lifting her gaze to the vampire. "You shouldn't have." Even so, she's reluctant to let it go and hand it back.

Spike has posed:
Spike looks sad for a moment. "I should have, Willow. I saw it and remembered you in high school with your necklaces. I remembered you and I" he says gently. "You know what sucks?" he asks sitting on the grass across from her. "It sucks we're all growing up. You and Oz and Buffy and company all went to school together and I came along, then we all went off and did our things. You've gone to college" he says. "And I miss the old days, Willow. I miss the routine of going to school and seeing you in the halls, of Cordy being a bitch. I miss Giles being around. I even miss Xander getting pantsed that one time in gym class. Was it Xander or one of the football players? Either way it was hilarious" Spike says and sighs. "You know I don't bring you gifts all the time, Willow. Just that, you know" he says softly. "I can't help but see things that remind me of you. You know what. I'd give anything to have Cordy walk up, smack me upsite the sodding head and tell me I'm an ass" Spike grumbles. He's not really trying to get Willow gifts. He's just a professional criminal.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Well, then. Willow happily takes the necklace, then, after a thought, holds it back out, clasp undone, "Can you help put it on? I always get the clasp caught in my hair." Which in Willow speak was entirely 'I like you too'.

"Yeah, it's different, isn't it? Oz came back. He's so much the same, and so different all at once. I keep thinking, am I like that, too?"

She's careful to pull her hair out of the way to help the en-necklacing along. (hush, that is too a word! Fine, it isn't.)

Spike has posed:
Spike gently, reverntially takes the necklace and nods, reaching over Willow's shoulders with gentle, delicate hands to carefully clasp the necklace. Given he's leaning up on tip toes to clasp it, he smiles. "It suits you" he says gently. Spike smiles as his lips brush against Willow's cheek and the corner of her mouth as he doesn't jerk back. Instead he pauses, lost in memories of them in high school. They /were/ a thing. Plus he still likes Willow. More than he lets on.....as his eyes are that look that says 'out to lunch, back in five minutes'

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
It was all so innocent in Willow's mind. She gets a necklace. She gets help putting the necklace on. She wasn't truly expecting to re-enact a scene from a Harlequin special on the Christian network, but there she was, sitting in the park, book in her lap, a former boyfriend kissing her cheek, and she herself turning her face towards that brush of lips...

And then it hits her how bad this is. Isn't she kind of almost maybe.. gee, what were they?.. Oz's girl? Not that they're firmed up the rules on that, or even firmed up that there were rules to be firm on - she'd not agreed to be his girlfriend, so why was she feeling so guilty?

Maybe because deep down inside she kinda likes him too.

Sighing, looking at her hands in her lap, "Maybe that wasn't a good idea." Even if, by all accounts, it was innocent enough.

Spike has posed:
Spike notices Willow turning her face and since he's not all there, lost in high school memories, he kisses her. As in lips to lips, and runs a hand toward her hair. The necklace suits her. Really, it does. Spike's eyes snap open and he looks worried. He thought all along Willow was single, though by her reaction....he pauses, but doesn't rip his lips away. Instead he closes hie eys. "Oh God. I'm sorry if I hurt you" he says sounding on the verge of tears. "It's just...just.....you know....school" he says "You. me. School. We were cute. I....Instincts" he says and then tears do fill his eyes. Spike's prone to long winded rants. But now's not one of them. Now he's fighting back tears. Spike. Tears. Romance. He's not used to all three at once. Still, to him a kiss isn't really romance. Unless it just lit a spark under he and Willow, which Spike's not sure of, but hes still liking Willow. Not that he'll admit it, though.....well, not openly. Not without being somewhere she can't easily kill him, at least. Thank God Buffy's not here to stake him on the spot. Or, indeed, Faith, or Cordy. God knows what Giles, that nancy boy, would say about it....

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow heaves a great and guilty sigh. "I don't know, Spike. I don't.."

Those tears nearly do her in, though (even if were she another she might suspect them to be crocodile tears). "Oh gosh, I made you - why.. uh.. Oh darnit. This is getting to be such a mess. And I'm not.. it's just.. and I don't know.. and then you.. and then there's John... and Buffy is.. and Sam.. and we haven't even found the thing.. and then Superman.."

Yeah. If Spike can follow that conversation, he deserves an award. Though even the snippets as they fall out of her shoudl inform enough that she's just as suddenly confused by everything as he is. Maybe more if the rest of those bits - including that odd mention of Superman - have anything to do with it.

Spike has posed:
Spike sort of follows along, though the fact he's actually crying now....puts the crocodile tears idea to bed pretty fast. Instead he just sits at her feet, looking up to Willow. He's not even caring how filthy it looks. He wants to figure things out. Wiping at his eyes with a sleeve of his duster, he doesn't look away. "I just wish..." he says softly. "I just wish things were simple, you know?" he asks and looks her dead in the eyes. "I just wish somehow I wasn't so bloody broken. I just..." he says gathering himself up. "Wish I'd never, ever, ever broken up with you. You are something else, Willow. You're special, and smart, and goofy, and beautiful, and help me with my computer stuff" he adds lamely. He's totally been taking lessons from Xander. "Point is...I don't care who you work with. You always got a place in my heart. Willow" Spike says with conviction. "You kept me a little sane after Angelus, that good for nothing traitor took Drusilla from me. You helped me heal, Willow. I haven't forgotten that" Spike adds and smiles, a genuine smile through his tears. "YOu still" he says getting to his feet, and standing there, then he kneels to be at eye level. "You still" he nods. "Matter to me. I just wish we could turn cock back" he says. Then it hits him what he said. "Clock. Turn the clock back you know...remember the good times. Point is..."

He won't say it. He won't admit he's stil got a thing for Willow. He likes her. As in , really, really likes her. He's hoping there's some way they can work, even if it's a complicated dance around and such. He just wants to feel whole again, really....

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Oh gosh. He's crying. Like really crying. Something in Willow shifts to needing to protect him, and she moves closer to Spike, reaching out to hug him, or hold him, or something - anything - to make the crying stop. "I wish things were simple too." But the odds of that were nearly nil, right? I mean, her own mother had wanted to burn her at the stake for being a witch, and wasn't that just something most people didn't have to go through in their lives?

She holds him till he moves to get up. "I like you too," she says simply. "I remember how it was. It wasn't really simple then, either." Because it hadn't been. She'd been just as confused then, and still reeling after her breakup with Oz and the relationship that both was and wasn't. She'd never been really sure what she and Spike had had either. "Maybe we can't go back there," she says softly. Quietly. "I mean, we can't.."

Her nose crinkles up as Willow realizes she's not helping things. She backs up a few steps. "I.. darnit, Spike. Oz just got back. He's been writing me the entire time he was gone. I can't just dump him. I don't even know if I like him still. And you show up and you kiss me and I think I like it? But what if I'm just using you because I'm afraid that there might be something with Oz? Or because there isn't anything with Oz?" Yeah, it's all complicated. And John would say, 'Luv, why are you trying so hard? Any reason you can't have both?' A thought that just thinking about it makes Willow's ears go red.

Spike has posed:
Spike's greatful for the hold as he listens. "Well....I was watching this show on cable in my crypt" he says and keeps looking to Willow even as she steps back. "You like me. You're writing Oz. I saw this show about....about these guys that have multiple partners. They're up in Utah. Mormons" Spike adds. Not that he's suggesting oing Mormom. With him being a vampire and all....but it's the idea he's hinting at. "I mean if some blah blah holy man God said this Book of whatever says it's okay, then why isn't it?" he asks and starts laying out a case for getting with Willow /and/ Oz. Not that he'd willingly bone Oz, or Willow....at least not yet. Still he tuts. "You're blushing. You're doing that cute blushing thing again Willow" Spike says with a smile. All his anger's gone out of his voice as he just stands there. Oh he /will/ get her to admit she loves him still...first. He won't blink first in that regard.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Oh gods... like actual gods. And whole bunches of other holy and profane things besides: He just suggested.. no. He couldn't have, could he? Had he read her mind? Had he heard her thinking John's thoughts on the matter - not that John had said those very things, but Willow had been John's student long enough to know full well what he would likely say about the entire matter.

Then again, John wasn't terribly picky about bed partners, or monogamy himself. In fact, one of the only reasons Willow wasn't on his 'hit on' list was she was his student, and in his own words, that was only ever a recipe for bad things.

That and he was old and smelled like cigarettes.

But Spike wasn't.. he wasn't suggesting.. was he?

Cheeks and ears all still aflush, Willow hesitantly mutters, "I blush all the time." Still. "But did you just suggest that we.. all? Like all of us?"

Because first, wow. Then.. wow. Maybe some more wow and huh on the side. With a dash of oh gosh what do I even say to that and I couldn't.. could I?