Meant To Dance

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Simple Requirements Include:
1) Spike as Main character
2) Live's 'Dance With You' lyrics

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I've been following the Slayer.

No, scratch that. I've been stalking her. That sounds more manly.

I've been stalking her because I love her.

Now that just sounds pathetic.

I don't care. She's been off her game for the past few days. Her mum's been sick, I think she broke up with her boy toy, and I've caught her crying a couple of times on patrol. I sometimes engage her in a battle of wits, just to get her mind off of whatever it is, but more often than not, I just sit beside her and make sure nothing gets her while she's upset and distracted. Last night, I fought a Plyth demon right under her nose and I don't think she even noticed. I'm afraid that death wish I warned her about is going to rear its ugly head. And I plan on being there to fight it away.

She's just gone into the Bronze. She fought a vampire in an alley behind the club just now and she won, but she took a few good hits as well. I didn't pop out of the shadows and do anything because there was something in her demeanor that said she needed it. She needed the fight, the pain, and the outlet. I kept myself hidden and watched. I like to watch her. Cor, is she beautiful when she fights. She's prettier than any Slayer I've ever seen.

Any woman I've ever seen.

I quickly pay the cover charge at the Bronze and duck inside, scanning the crowd for her. I don't see her anywhere so I head to the bar and order a beer, then turn back toward the masses. There's a gaggle of teenage girls who are staring at me, flirting, but I sneer at them. If it wouldn't cause a commotion, I'd let my demon out and lunge at them, but I can't. That would teach them a lesson though. In this town, you shouldn't stare.

Oh god, there she is. I can't take my eyes off of her.

I'm staring. I wish she'd get naked and lunge at me. That'd teach me!

She steps up to the payphone, lifts the receiver, then hangs it back up. I wonder who she was going to call. Does she need money? She turns back toward the crowd and sees me. A little smile turns up the corners of her mouth and she walks toward me. It's like a television moment. The music fades out; the crowd blurs until I can't even see them anymore. All I see is her in her leather pants, her snug jacket and her pouty little mouth.

Christ, that mouth is enough to drive me insane.

// Gonna get it. //

Will I ever get lucky enough to taste it again?

"Spike, what are you doing here?" she asks me, then orders a mixed drink at the bar. She's not old enough, but she doesn't get carded. I think that they like her here. Fuck! The bartender just leered at her chest!

"What's it look like?" I hold up my glass and glare at the bartender, who is still looking down her shirt. "I'm drinking a glass of water with a shot of beer in it."

The guy scowls at me, gives her the drink, then waits for her to pay. She digs into her pocket for some cash, but I stop her. "Let me get it."

"No," she tells me with a shake of her head. "I'll never hear the end of it."

I chuckle a little, but pay for it anyway, then motion the man away. "How's your mum?"

Her face clouds a little and she looks away. "She's still in the hospital."

"And the little one?"

"She's staying with Giles," she says and glances over at me. "Can we not talk about this?"

I nod. "What would you like to talk about, then?"

She turns in her chair and looks out at the dancefloor. "Do you still want to dance with me?"

Do I!? Does Howdy Doody got wooden balls? She looks at me, right in the eye, and mouth goes dry. I start to smirk at her, start to say something snide as all hell. She would deserve it for making me feel this way. Instead, I nod and say, "Yeah, Slayer, I still do." Wasn't that very bad ass of me?

She takes my hand and I follow. I can tell immediately that she's not going to be talkative because she lays her head on my shoulder and sighs. I can smell her shampoo, I can feel how strong she is as she clutches me, and I feel how powerless I am in her arms. I hope she doesn't notice. I should call her an ugly name or step on her foot or something. Anything to break her hold on me. So why do I just pull her tighter?

sittin' on the beach
the island king of love
deep in fijian seas
deep in some blissful dream
where the goddess finally sleeps
in the lap of her lover
subdued in all her rage
and I am aglow with the taste
of the demons driven out
and happily replaced
with the presence of real love
the only one who saves

I listen to the lyrics, listen to the rhythm of her body. She relaxes and I lean my head against hers. We're perfectly matched. She fits against me like she was made to go there. When we used to fight, I'd marvel to myself at how well we rose to the challenge of each other. She's strong, sure-footed and deadly. And so was I, once upon a time]. But really, I think that this, this moment right here, is better than fifty rounds with her fists. She's tiny, delicate and made frail by current circumstances, but still the strongest person I know. And she's dancing with me.

I wanna dance with you
I see a world where people live and die with grace
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace
I wanna dance with you
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds
and lead us back to a world we would not face

When I first realized that I was in love with her, I was miserable. I'm still miserable, but she's worth it. She told me I was beneath her and I should hate her for it, but I still want her so bad that it makes me ache. I guess I am beneath her that way. She probably never feels the sting when I insult her. I've been stinging since she said it. I was nearly blind with rage the night I took the gun to her house and all it took was one look at her tear-stained face for it to subside. And when she finally rested her head on my shoulder and told me about her mother, I found myself feeling more protective than a lion with her cubs. Yeah, I'm very badass, all right.

She was all sobbing and I swear, I wanted to be able to take glee in it. I could have stood up and mocked her and told her that her mum was going to die because the Slayer shagged a vampire once, but I didn't. I could have told her fate always bites bitches on the ass, but I held my tongue. You know what I said to her? I put my arm around her, let her sog up my precious leather, and I told her to just let go of it all and that I'd be right there. And there I stayed, until the sun was threatening to come up and she finally went inside.

You know what I wanted? I wanted to follow her in. Not because I wanted to shag her silly, though that was definitely on my mind - no, I wanted to make sure she didn't cry herself to sleep. Do you see what she's done to me?

the stillness in your eyes
convinces me that I
I don't know a thing
and I been around the world and I've
tasted all the wines
a half a billion times
came sickened to your shores
you show me what this life is for

The first time I saw her, on this very dancefloor, swaying to some fast little song, I was hard all over. That night, I went home and shagged Dru, but the Slayer was still there, dancing in the back of my mind. She danced all over me, almost killed me more than once, and I kept on coming back for more. Our dance was choreographed and she doesn't even realize it yet. No matter how far away from her I flew, she danced into my mind and I felt her undulate through my veins.

// That's all we've ever done. //

Dru knew it. I would see the way she would eye me when I'd see a blond girl some place abroad who resembled the Slayer. I took to killing blondes for a while, just to get her off my case. She was on me from the second I made that deal with Buffy that time. And what a deal that was!

// Hello, cutie! //

// She's hell on the old skins. //

// Well, I sing. //

// My god, he's going to kill her. //

She never knew that I turned around halfway out of town, before Dru ever woke up, and came back to see if he had indeed killed her. I watched from the shadows as the Poof got his soul back and hugged her. I was tempted to stake him myself. Then the big rock started to open and Buffy stabbed him. God, she was devastated. I watched her sink to her knees, screaming his name, and then Dru charged up behind me and I had to wrestle her back out to the car. I think Dru would have killed her.

And that would have killed me.

I wanna dance with you
I see a world where people live and die with grace
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace
I wanna dance with you
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds
and lead us back to a world we would not face

She just sighed and lifted her head, looking up at me. Her eyes, they change colors, and currently they're sparkling green with unshed tears. She blinks them away and I give her a pathetic smile.

"Spike?" she says my name softly.

"Hmmm?"

"What are we doing?"

I study her closely. "We're dancing, pet."

"Because that's all we've ever done?" She asks me, a little smile lifting the corners of her lips.

"Yes." I nod at her and she puts her head back on my chest. Apples. That's what her hair smells like. Apples.

I'm about to lean my head against hers when she looks up at me again. "Spike, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You're not beneath me."

No, but I'd like to be. I don't say that, but I think it. I think it and I have to stop myself from glazing over like some lovesick schoolboy.

in this altered state
full of so much pain and rage
you know we got to find a way to let it go

"And you don't have stupid hair," I hear myself say. I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her until she's breathless and every bad thing that's happening to her is a distant memory. I want to kiss away the death wish that I know she's got, that I can [FEEL]{hear} with the demon inside of me. I want to pick her up and carry her off the dance floor and really dance with her. Dance with her the way I've always wanted to.

There's a commotion in the corner and a girl rushes in holding her neck. I can smell the blood and glance down at Buffy. She's got her 'Slayer' face on now. The watery look in her eyes is gone and has been replaced by the eyes of a killer. I know it well. Predatory. It's like looking in a mirror. She's everything that was human about me, kind heart and gentle soul, and she's everything that is the demon in me, feral and vicious when she needs to be. Wordlessly, she steps from my arms and goes to the bar, where she lifts her bag and heads out again.

I follow her, but this time I'm beside her. We step into the alley and she dusts two vampires immediately, while I take out the third. I watch her close her eyes and take a deep breath, then she looks at me. "There aren't any more around here. I should go."

"Want me to walk you home?" I ask her. Sod it all, I've already proven that I'm lovesick, what else am I supposed to say?

She shakes her head and smiles at me. We're in the same alley where I tried to kiss her - where she ripped out my heart and ground it with her heel. She steps toward me and I don't move. I'm still not moving when she stands on her tiptoes and presses a slight kiss against my lips, then steps away before I can deepen it. "Goodnight, Spike. I'll see you tomorrow."

She walks away, her head held high, a spring in her step. Last time she walked away from me here, I gathered up money and cried. This time I touch my lips and grin at her retreating back.

I put my hand into my pocket, stroking the bit of silk and lace I stole from her room. I should return it before she finds out it's gone. Nah, I'll hang onto it. Who knows, it's possible that one day she'll wear them for me. And we'll dance and dance and dance.

It's what we're meant to do.

I head toward my crypt with our song still burning in my head.

I wanna dance with you
I see a world where people live and die with grace
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace
I wanna dance with you
i see a sky full of the stars that change our minds
and lead us back to a world we would not face
we would not face
we would not face
we would not face
we would not face
we would not face



I danced with the Slayer tonight. And this time, it wasn't a dream.



-Fin

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