No-one really noticed them, as they walked down the street. He was dressed in his long black leather trench coat, and didn't so much strut as glided along the pavement. She had a dark mop of hair that constantly needed taming, and kept up with a hyperactive shuffle. But their conversation was nothing if not unusual.
"I don't care how antsy you are!" said Cass, grinning from under her fringe. "We are NOT going demon baiting. I really don't need that much of a work out tonight, and frankly Spike, neither do you."
Spike spun on his heals and scowled at her. "What do you mean, neither do I?"
"Well, I don't think you need any more enemies, that's all." she said, shrugging. "And if you carry on like this, not only are you going to get your arse kicked big time, but we are also going to stick out like a sore thumb, when it comes to attracting the ?old school'." She paused and looked him straight in the eye. "That wasn't the plan."
Spike growled and kicked at the side walk with his boot. They had cut off the main road and hit the side streets. It was becoming a habit to weave around, but it was useful. Cass wanted to know as much of the city as she could, it limited the possibility of them being followed, and Spike was alway dragging her off to some spot from his youth. She enjoyed his stories- he avoided the insane, rampaging ones, and stuck to telling her about his life before his encounter with Angel- it had been so different from hers. ?Mind you...' thought Cassidy in a reflective moment, ?that's not particularly hard.'
The alleyways was dark and the buildings either side were thick with grime. The ground near the huge, over-flowing bins was slick with piss and the black slime that coats the floor of clubs by the end of the night. However neither of them really noticed, they were still deep in conversation.
"But we'd be doing our bit, pet." implored Spike, hopefully, as he drew on his cigarette. "And I'm bored!" He paced back and forth, a bag of nervous energy.
"Spike!" Cass reprimanded. "That not the plan!" She paused in thought for a short while, looked around her as if noticing their surroundings for the first time, and then sighed. "You want a fight?"
Spike turned his head slowly and Cass could see an evil glint in his eyes. "You up for it?" He asked, darkly. Without answering she mirrored his expression, spun on her heals and ran. As she sped out the end of the alley way she called over her shoulder, "Gotta catch me first!"
Cass flew through Soho. She twisted through side streets and doubled back on her self a number of times. She knew Spike was behind her somewhere. She could picture him pounding after her, his heavy boots hitting the pavement cat-light, his coat billowing out behind him. She was well aware he was more powerful than she was. Saying he was older was an understatement, and the things he had seen... But he enjoyed the chase as much as she did. It was like a small game of tig played over a much bigger area. There was always the chance that at any moment he would pounce and pull her to the ground. Or that she would come tearing round a corner and plough straight into him. The though made her spine tingle.
Spike kept a safe distance away. He knew she had no idea exactly where he was. It was fun to watch her push herself, to run so hard he was sure she could feel her muscles burn. He enjoyed trying to get further inside her head, anticipating her next move. It did them both good. Cass, or more than one occasion, had had to do it for real, and he missed the thrill of the chase. Plus he knew she had more than enough imagination to keep him on his toes.
Soho gave way to white painted residential streets. Cassidy sprinted beyond them, towards the park. It had always amazed her how quickly the landscape could change in the city. Tonight she was thankful for it. If she was sparing with Spike she wanted somewhere relatively soft to land. She banged her shins as she scrambled over the high fence, but managed to land lightly on the other side. She ran though over the spongy grass, heading towards the nearest group of trees.
She was virtually there when she heard a ?woosh' and felt hands grab her around the waist, pulling her to the ground. Momentum meant the two of them rolled uncontrollably for a few seconds until Spike got his bearings and flipped her on her back.
He grinned. "You were saying?"
Cass tried to catch her breath. She was breathing hard and trying not to laugh. When she opened her mouth, panting for air, all that came out were hiccups.
"<hiccup> No fair!" she gasped, grinning at him.
"Why pet?" asked Spike, resting his hands on the ground, either side of her head, to hold himself up.
"Oh I don't know," replied Cassidy, rolling her eyes. "Super powers, maybe? Vampire against ?mere' human <hiccup>?"
"Nothing mere about you, love." said Spike, his face inches away from hers.
Cass stretched forward, her lips almost touching Spikes. She closed her eyes as if to kiss him, then, catching him off guard, spun him over so she was sat on him.
"Better believe it!" she said, grinning at the slightly stunned look that flashed over his face.
"The moment hung between them, their eyes locked. Cass was suddenly very aware she was pressed against him.
Spike stared. He was fascinated by this strange girl, straddling him. A source of constant amazement, she was fearless and clever, and loyal and painfully honest. She had fought along side them all for most of her young life and now she was half way around the world, thousands of miles away from those she loved, risking her life for the greater good. And she was here, staring back at him with the weirdest look on her face.
Cass slowly lowered her head and kissed him, properly. She sensed his eyes widen and then felt his body slowly relax beneath her. As the tip of his tongue caress her lips she thought suddenly about ice cubes. Spike's arms reached over her back to pull her closer to him. Cass breathed in his scent. Since his arrival, three months earlier, it had become familiar to her once more- the mixture of cigarette smoke, and worn leather. But closer to him she could smell other things. There was a peppery tang to his skin she had not noticed before, and a unmistakable hint of lust. The tingles in her spine were still there.
Spike's lips left hers briefly, and Cass instinctively turned her head to expose her neck. Spike ran his tongue down its length, feeling the steady rhythm of her pulse beneath the skin.
"Not playing fair." he whispered. Her skin tasted slightly of herbs, and salt, where the run had made her sweat.
"Don't care." Cass whispered back, her arms shaking from holding herself up. Spike rolled their bodies over, and ended up with his hips between her legs.
"Your dad is not going to like this." he said, grinning at her.
"My dad isn't here." replied Cass, her breath quickening. She lost her hands in the folds of his coat but eventually found his shirt and pulled it from his trousers. The skin on his back was cold and goose-bumped at the warmth of her touch.
Spike's hand came up to push the hair away from her forehead. As he closed his eyes and moved down to kiss her lips again Cassidy eyes fixed on his eyelashes. They were so long and beautiful. It made her smile, an expression Spike could feel, mid kiss. "What?" he said, lazily between kisses.
"Nothing." replied Cass, lifting her head to initiate yet another kiss. Spike trailed a finger down her face, then rubbed the outline of her collar bone. She stretched and sighed at the sensation.
Then her eye snapped open. "We're not going to stay here all night are we?" she asked, removing a hand from his back and brushing her fingers up towards his hair line.
"Why pet?" Spike asked, his eyes closed.
"It's getting kinda cold, Spike. And if we fall a sleep... well, put it this way, I'd prefer you raw."
"You want to go home?" he said, opening a lazy eye.
"Well no. I don't really want to leave... this." she waved her arm around, slightly. "But I'd rather be somewhere warm and safe."
He wriggled, beneath her. "Shall we get up?"
"Pig!" hissed Cassidy, her breath quickening again.
Spike scrambled up and pulled her with him. Back on her feet, she placed her hands against his chest and pushed him against the trunk of the nearest tree, their bodies crushed together. "I'm not sure this is over." she said, with a glint in her eye.
"You'd better believe it." replied Spike, stealing a kiss and pulling her back towards the road, in search of a cab.
Later, when they arrived home, Spike made himself comfortable in the chair in the corner of Cassidy's cramped apartment. The room was lit by lamps and filled with books, and computers. There was paper everywhere. He watched her emerge, wrapped in towels, from a blurry of steam as she left the bathroom.
"Come here." Spike whispered, and held his hands out for a towel. Cass sat on the floor in front of him and rested against his legs. Her skin glowed from the hot shower, and she felt sleepy despite the nerves of her scalp fizzing and firing as Spike's fingers gently untangled her hair. She looked around her room and thought about how much happier she was now that she was not alone. As she was dozing off she felt arms under her knees and across the back of her shoulders. Spike whispered "Bed." in her ear, and she murmured her agreement.
As he lay her on the dark green sheets her caught sight of the bruises on her shins. He lowered his head and gently kissed them. Cass stirred and opened sleepy eyes. "Stay." she whispered, and loosely patted the space next to her. Spike sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots. Fully clothed, his shirt still untucked from his trousers, he lay down next to her and pulled her into a hug.
"Funny night." he thought, raising his eyebrows, and smiling at the sleeping form next to him. Cass snuggled further into the crook of his arm, and the last thing Spike thought about as he too drift into unconsciousness, was the wonder of the stars that glowed from her ceiling.
"Funny night... funny girl".