Nuts

By Ruby

Title: Nuts 1/1 (6th in the "Plagued--Why Us?" series)
Author: Ruby
E-mail: [email protected]
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Joss owns all.
Summary: Another beast-ly encounter.
Archive: My usual haunts.
Feedback: Yes, please!
Dedication: For Gabrielle, who's suggestion inspired this part.:-)

 

"We can't go to the Bronze tonight," Willow said as she followed Spike out of her apartment.

"That was your suggestion, as I recall. What's changed your mind?" he asked her.

"Buffy and Xander are going to be there to hear Oz play. That's almost everyone on our 'miss list'--all in the same place," she
explained.

"Okay," he agreed. "Maybe we should just stay here."

Willow nodded, "Maybe we should."

"Or not," he said suddenly, taking her hand.

"Why? What is it?"

"Slayer, dead ahead and headed in this direction," he warned her.

Willow clasped his hand and pulled him toward the far end of the apartment building. They disappeared around the side as Buffy
stepped onto the sidewalk that lead to the door. Spike placed his hand on Willow's back and urged her through the hedge of shrubs that
bordered the back of the property.

"We're okay, now," she said. "She can't see us."

"If I can sense her, she can sense me, pet," he reminded her.

"Oh. Yeah," she mumbled and scrambled through the scratchy shrubs.

They darted down a narrow side street that lead out onto a row of houses, most of them in varying states of disrepair, with porches and
lawns littered with the college students who resided in them.

"Damn," he hissed.

"What?"

"She's right behind us," he answered.

The couple helped themselves to several front and back yards, Spike snarling softly at the wolf-whistles that followed the little
redhead. She giggled in spite of the situation, and his hand reattached itself to hers, and he pulled her relentlessly behind him.

Spike slowed his pace as they entered one of Sunnydale's ever-growing cemeteries and looked down at Willow as she labored to catch
her breath.

She took a quick look behind them, "Are we in the clear?"

"We've lost her," he nodded. "Even if she does manage to find her way here, there have been enough other vampires roaming through
this cemetery tonight that she won't be able to tell me from the others."

"Oh, that's comforting," Willow said dryly. "Can we get out of here, please?"

"You've got something against undead guys?" he grinned.

"You're the only undead guy I lo--like," she answered.

"What was that, little one?" he smiled smugly.

"Like, I said like," she snapped, silently cursing the red warmth that swept over her cheeks.

"Uh huh," he chuckled as they walked away from the cemetery.

"I'm starving," she announced, quickly changing the subject. "Let's get something to eat."

"How about that pizza place near the park?" he suggested. "You can have pizza, and I'll have a waitress."

She arched an eyebrow at him.

"No?" he asked, all innocence. "Okay. You can have pizza, and I'll have you."

Willow giggled and shook her head as she dragged him down the street. ***
Spike reached down and took Willow's arm, tucking it through his as they walked through the park. She leaned against him, and he
stopped, pulling her around to kiss her.

"We shouldn't be doing this here," she told him.

"I know," he agreed and returned to her mouth.

"It's dangerous."

"It is," he said and nibbled her lip.

"Buffy could be looking for us right now."

"I half wish she'd find us," he admitted, crushing her against him as her arms went around him.

Willow suddenly broke the kiss with a little yelp. She raised her hand to the top of her head and rubbed it softly.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, looking upward.

"What?"

"Something hit me in the--ow!" she cried out as another hard object smacked the top of her head.

She bolted out of his arms as something scampered through the thick, leafy branches above them. Spike reached out and grabbed her,
pulling her out from under the tree, his eyes following the trembling leaves above them. The leaves on all the trees around them began to
flutter, though the night air was still.

Countless small, hard objects rained down on them from above, and Willow pulled Spike toward a nearby picnic table. He scrambled
under it after her and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head against his chest. Several of the little missiles rattled down atop
the table and rolled off onto the ground. Spike scooped up the closest and held it in the palm of his hand.

"Acorns?" he spoke close to Willow's ear.

The sounds of the trembling leaves and the plop-plopping of acorns were replaced by the sound of numerous, small footsteps as
whatever was above them scurried down the trunks of the trees. Several of the beasts literally flew out of the branches above the
picnic table, landing on it with small thuds. Willow shivered a little and clutched more tightly at Spike.

The creatures that had made their way down from their overhead perches joined those who had dropped onto the table, and the witch
and the vampire found themselves peering out at dozens of pairs of beady eyes.

"Squirrels," Willow moaned.

Pulling herself slightly away from Spike, she scooped up a handful of acorns from the ground and began pelting the furry rodents with
them. The vampire followed suit, and they crawled quickly out from under the table as their tiny attackers moved out of the way.

Willow hissed as one of the squirrels attached itself to her leg, sinking its nails into her flesh. Spike reached down and batted it off of
her, and another quickly replaced it.

"The fountain!" he shouted as another jumped from the table to his arm and skittered up toward his shoulder.

The squirrel tumbled off of him, and the couple made a frantic dash toward the large, round fountain, with the army of squirrels rapidly
gaining on them. By the time they reached their destination, their legs and backs were covered with the animals. Spike lifted Willow up
and dumped her unceremoniously into the water and followed her in. The squirrels let go and swam for the nearest side of the fountain
as the blonde vampire and his redhead splashed their way to the far side and climbed out. Spike flung Willow over his shoulder and ran,
never slowing until they were half-way to his apartment, the park and the squirrels far behind.

By the time they reached his doorstep, the combination of wet clothes and frayed nerves had Willow shivering. Spike, nearly as shaken,
but trying hard not to show it, opened the door and pulled her inside. He knelt down and raised first her right foot, then her left, to
pull off her shoes. He unfastened her jeans, tugging them down, and she steadied herself on his shoulder as he pulled them off of her. He
ran his hands over her legs, studying the marks left by the squirrels' nails and teeth.

Spike stood up and drew her sopping t-shirt over her head. Gently, he turned her to find her back in a state similar to that of her legs.
He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. He peeled off her wet bra and panties before turning on the shower, allowing the
water to warm up as he pulled off his own wet clothes. Spike lifted Willow over the edge of the tub and followed her under the spray
of water. He pulled her into his arms, and they stood wrapped up in each other, allowing the heat of the water to warm and relax them.

He raised her chin to find her eyes heavy with tears, and he bent and kissed her.

"This isn't funny, anymore, Spike," she murmured.

"I know," he crooned softly. "It's gotten kind of nuts."

He was rewarded by her soft giggle at his awful pun.

"Okay, maybe it's a little bit funny," she admitted.

"Not when you get hurt, pet," he answered seriously.

"I'm okay, just a little shaky," she assured him. "Hold me for a minute."

He embraced her, and her arms clutched his back as he rocked her gently under the calming water. He reached for a washcloth and
lathered it with soap. Turning her around, he carefully cleaned the small wounds on her back. She trembled, a soft sigh escaping her
lips, as his hands moved around her to run the cloth over the mounds of her breasts. He placed one arm around her waist, holding her
against him as his hand traveled lower, washing her stomach in slow, easy circles, then moving lower to the thick folds between her legs.

Willow moaned as his fingers parted her, and he dropped the washcloth and turned her to face him, his thumb gently tickling her clit as
their mouths connected. He raised her up, tucking an arm around her to keep her wounded back away from the wall, and entered her.
Willow wrapped her legs around his waist, and their tongues slid over each other as he thrust into her. Her lips fluttered over his
jawline and down to his neck, and Spike groaned and quickened his pace as her warm lips suckled his neck, and her tongue danced over
his flesh.

She rested her head against the wall, and her lips parted as hot sparks began to radiate from her core out through her body. Spike
growled as her walls clamped around him, and he fought off his own orgasm, waiting for her. She cried out, her hands gripping his
shoulders hard as she came, and his cold seed flooded her, seeping from her channel to mix with the hot, steamy water.

He reached over to turn off the tap and stepped out of the tub with Willow in his arms. Spike wrapped a thick towel around her and
carried her into the bedroom. He dried her off, and then himself, and pulled her naked body close against him.

"You don't think those squirrels were rabid, do you?" she asked, her voice small and muffled by his chest.

"I doubt it, luv. I think they're just evil."

"Why is this happening? If I were inclined toward paranoia, I'd think someone was trying to keep us apart," she admitted.

"Can't be," he answered.

"Why not?" she looked up at him.

He traced her jaw with a finger and pressed his lips to her forehead, "First of all, these things aren't keeping us apart; if anything,
they're drawing us closer to each other."

"True," she agreed.

"And second, those crows weren't just after us the other night. The watcher had sent the slayer out after them."

"That's right!" Willow nodded. "But you have to admit, this can't all be coincidence, even if this is a Hellmouth. We've blown off the
last two research sessions. Spike, we have to go to the next one and find out what's going on."

"You talk to the slayer tomorrow and find out when they're meeting, and we'll be there," he promised.

"Okay," she smiled wearily.

Spike backed her up to the edge of the bed and lowered her down on it, "In the meantime--"

Her arms snaked around his neck and he moved over her and kissed her. She whimpered softly as the tender wounds on her back pressed
into the mattress. Spike moved over and pulled her up onto his chest, placing a kiss on a small bruise on her shoulder.

"Nuts," he muttered, shaking his head.

Willow's eyes gleamed as she reached down between his legs, "I like yours much better."

He chuckled and pulled her over on top of him, drawing her mouth down into a hard, deep kiss.
  *******

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