Prompt: Don't Fool with a Phantom (AU)
Prompt: Don't Fool with a Phantom
Setting: AU AtS S5
Rating: PG
Words: 430
He gets Fred to make the call for him. The one Angel won’t make. The one to Buffy.
Technically, Fred calls Willow, but it has the same effect. Buffy shows up within 48 hours, fists clenched (how dare nobody call her right away) and eyes bright and soft and shining.
“Spike,” she says when she sees him in the hallway, her voice all breathy and trembly. She moves in for a hug, awkward and unsure, only to realize his plight as she stumbles through him and into the wall. “Spike?”
“Yeah, about that...”
*****
Spike catches the barest glimpse of hell before Buffy is on the case. Buffy gets Willow on the phone, and then Willow is there too. And Fred, who’d been a little hesitant, finds herself swept up in the juggernaut that is The Scoobies On A Mission.
Willow, bless her, is able to see the spooks too. He knows Buffy doesn’t exactly doubt him, but after the whole mess with the First and his crazy basement days, she’s more than a little suspicious. So when Willow can not only see them, but actually interact with them, it makes him feel a whole lot less crazy. And also less worried. He might deserve hell - scratch might, he definitely deserves hell - but not this day. Not this way. With the Superfriends on the case, Spike’s even confident enough to be cocky when the Spook in Charge finally shows his ugly mug.
*****
At the end of the day, after he’s saved Willow from Death by Angry Ghost at the expense of a body of his very own, and they’ve locked Pavayne up for all eternity, they stand about the hallway making uncomfortable small talk. Angel and Fred leave first, claiming a business to run. Willow’s next, after another heartfelt thank you and fierce hug from Buffy that leaves Spike half-wishing he hadn’t sacrificed his body to save the girl. But only half, mind you. He’s got that soul now.
“So,” he says.
“So,” Buffy says back. “What now?”
“Um.” He scratches the back of his neck. He hadn’t thought much beyond letting her know he was back from the great beyond, and finding some way to see her.
“I really, really wish I could touch - could hug you,” she says. “I know you’re real, but... it would make you even more real. You know what I mean?”
Spike does. “Maybe if we wish real hard,” he says, half-joking.
“It’s worth a shot,” Buffy says with a small smile. She reaches for him, and he wishes real hard.
Harder than he’s ever wished for anything.
Setting: AU AtS S5
Rating: PG
Words: 430
He gets Fred to make the call for him. The one Angel won’t make. The one to Buffy.
Technically, Fred calls Willow, but it has the same effect. Buffy shows up within 48 hours, fists clenched (how dare nobody call her right away) and eyes bright and soft and shining.
“Spike,” she says when she sees him in the hallway, her voice all breathy and trembly. She moves in for a hug, awkward and unsure, only to realize his plight as she stumbles through him and into the wall. “Spike?”
“Yeah, about that...”
*****
Spike catches the barest glimpse of hell before Buffy is on the case. Buffy gets Willow on the phone, and then Willow is there too. And Fred, who’d been a little hesitant, finds herself swept up in the juggernaut that is The Scoobies On A Mission.
Willow, bless her, is able to see the spooks too. He knows Buffy doesn’t exactly doubt him, but after the whole mess with the First and his crazy basement days, she’s more than a little suspicious. So when Willow can not only see them, but actually interact with them, it makes him feel a whole lot less crazy. And also less worried. He might deserve hell - scratch might, he definitely deserves hell - but not this day. Not this way. With the Superfriends on the case, Spike’s even confident enough to be cocky when the Spook in Charge finally shows his ugly mug.
*****
At the end of the day, after he’s saved Willow from Death by Angry Ghost at the expense of a body of his very own, and they’ve locked Pavayne up for all eternity, they stand about the hallway making uncomfortable small talk. Angel and Fred leave first, claiming a business to run. Willow’s next, after another heartfelt thank you and fierce hug from Buffy that leaves Spike half-wishing he hadn’t sacrificed his body to save the girl. But only half, mind you. He’s got that soul now.
“So,” he says.
“So,” Buffy says back. “What now?”
“Um.” He scratches the back of his neck. He hadn’t thought much beyond letting her know he was back from the great beyond, and finding some way to see her.
“I really, really wish I could touch - could hug you,” she says. “I know you’re real, but... it would make you even more real. You know what I mean?”
Spike does. “Maybe if we wish real hard,” he says, half-joking.
“It’s worth a shot,” Buffy says with a small smile. She reaches for him, and he wishes real hard.
Harder than he’s ever wished for anything.