Title: Red
Author: Sweetness
Rating PG
Pairing: None
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss Whedon and Co.
Distribution: BTVS Inspiration, otherwise ask.
Notes: In response to Challenge #39, someone gets caught fondling
underwear.
Set early in BTVS season 5.
Feedback: Yes Please.

Spike always hated it when Buffy assumed that he would look
after Dawn, as much as he cared for Dawn, he didn't appreciate being
the babysitter. He knew that it was because he was chipped and
couldn't be a threat, but Buffy and her friends never seemed to
realize how much it ruined any reputation he had in the demon world.
Sure his reputation as being a big bad evil monster was kind of shot
with the chip stuck in his head, and Drusilla's defection had never
really helped either. But he was slowly beginning to get a reputation
for being a hardass. Other demons were slowly realizing that sure he
might be fighting the good fight while he was defanged, but Sunnydale
was his turf and no one else's. But babysitting the Slayer's kid
sister, well that just made him the laughing stock of the demon
world. Who was going to take him seriously? Not only did he fight
with the Slayer but also he was her lapdog. Spike growled as he
approached the Summers' residence. If only Joyce could stay home and
take care of Dawn, but she had some date, and Buffy and her gang of
merry morons had to fight some evil. Which left Spike in charge of
Dawn. Oh well, at least the Lil'bit was a lot of fun, more than her
stuck up sister. Spike knocked on the door, and Buffy opened it. She
sighed impatiently at the vampire, and started to babble about how
she would stake him if anything happened to her precious but annoying
little sister. Spike just made the correct noises at the correct
parts of her speech, having heard it so many times before. It annoyed
him that the Slayer continued to use threats of physical violence
against him, like he was some stupid beast that could not reason. He
had often wished that Buffy could see the man that he was and not
just the demon. It still pissed him off that she could always see the
man in Angel but never in him. If only she knew half of what Angel
had done before he had hooked up with her. Like the big Poof was some
saint because he had a soul, sure if she even knew some of the gossip
in the demon community about her precious knight, well lets just say
his armour wouldn't be so shining. Spike knew that Buffy didn't even
realize that Angel's fighting against the demons had only started
shortly after she had been called as a Slayer. So as far as he was
concerned, he was the much better man than Angel was. After all,
despite briefly working with Adam, he had fought the good fight as
soon as he had escaped the Initiative. His thoughts were interrupted
when Buffy yelled his name, and he realized that he hadn't been
paying attention to her. He looked at her.
"Fine, just go Buffy." Spike sighed in frustration.
"Just so you know, if anything happens to Dawn, I will drive a stake…"
"Right through my heart. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard the drill about
a thousand times over, I am not stupid Slayer."
"Fine." Buffy walked out of the house.
"Dawn, where are you?" Spike called out.
"Upstairs doing homework." Dawn replied.
"Need a hand?"
"No thanks."
Spike sat down on the couch and started watching television.
Nothing was on, just a bunch of garbage. A bunch of reality shows
which he hated, and some movie of the week sob story. Nothing really
worth watching. He finally found a movie and watched it, he had
already seen it several times and it was as boring as it had been the
first time. Half way through it, Dawn came downstairs.
"Hey Spike, what are you watching?"
"Some stupid movie."
"Well I am off to bed, goodnight Spike."
"Night, Lil'bit."
Spike remained on the couch for a little while longer.
Eventually he turned off the television and made his way upstairs. As
he walked by Dawn's room, he listened at the door. He could hear
nothing except her for her deep and even breathing, signaling to him
that she was asleep. He stood there for a few more minutes waiting to
see if there were any unusual noises, such as the Slayer or her
mother coming home. When everything remained silent, he walked away
from Dawn's door and went down the hall to another of the bedrooms.
He opened the door and took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the
elder Summers woman. He loved her room and the scent it had. It
always smelt of a floral scent, but not overpowering. She was a woman
with class and style and her room reflected that. He hated sneaking
into her room, but he knew that she would never allow him in there.
Even if she did, Buffy would probably stake him for going in there.
He stealthily crept over to her dresser, and went to the drawer that
she kept her underwear in. He knew that what he was doing reeked of
wrong, but he couldn't help himself. Somewhere down the line, he had
fallen for the Slayer's mother. He knew nothing would or could come
out of it, but she was so sweet and loving and soft, everything that
her eldest daughter wasn't. He had snooped around the house one
evening when babysitting Dawn and discovered that not only was Joyce
all of these characteristics, but she also had a set of underwear
similar to what Drusilla used to wear. And after all these years, the
thought of Drusilla could still send him off.
Spike pulled out a pair of red silk underwear that he would
never have thought that Joyce would wear, as they were too sexy but
she must wear them since she had them in her drawer. He held them up
to his nose and breathed in the scent that was Joyce. He knew that if
Buffy ever caught him doing this, he would be staked before he could
explain, not that he really wanted to explain. He started rubbing
them in his hand, so caught up in memories that he didn't hear when
Dawn came to the door.
"Spike? What are you doing?"
"What?" Spike jumped up, trying to hide the evidence of his invasion
in Joyce's room.
"Spike, are those my mother's underwear?"
"Uhm, these?" Spike asked, trying to play dumb.
"If you don't tell me what's going on, I will tell Buffy."
"Oh all right." Spike started to tell Dawn about it and why he was
there. Dawn sat down on the bed beside him and listened as he told
her all about Drusilla and his feelings, and why he had become to
care for Joyce.
"So you're in here like some perv because of Drusilla?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, I know it sounds odd."
"Yeah it does, but just promise me that you won't do it again and I
promise not to tell Buffy that you were in here playing with my mom's
underwear because you were missing Drusilla."
"Deal." Spike stood up and put the underwear back in the
drawer. "However, you had better get to bed or else Buffy will most
likely stake me for that."
"Sure, but I will just see you downstairs all the same." Dawn
followed Spike down the stairs and waited until he had gotten
comfortable on the couch before going back to bed. Spike sighed at
the close call he had, he knew that perhaps the whole story of
missing Drusilla had probably worked on Dawn, but he knew that his
nocturnal visits to Joyce's room when Dawn was in bed, had very
little to do with Drusilla. At first, it had been all about her, but
somewhere between his first trips to Joyce's room and now, it had all
changed. He had started to view Joyce as a real woman and he had
fallen for her.

End