~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

BUFFY: What the hell are you doing?

SPIKE: I thought they were demons.

BUFFY: Way to go with the keen observiness, Jessica Fletcher.

SPIKE: Remind me not to help you.

BUFFY: *More* often?

SPIKE: Hey. Little sympathy for the man with the migraine here, can we?

BUFFY: Well, that's what you get for attacking a human.

SPIKE: Yeah. You'd think if the government was gonna put a chip in my head, they'd at least make it so I could attack criminals and that sort.

BUFFY: Yes, because muggers deserve to be eaten. Just have to get your rocks off fightin' demons.

SPIKE: There are other ways.

BUFFY: And to that, an extreme 'see you later.'

SPIKE: Buffy.

BUFFY: Spike ... it's late, okay, can we just finish this another time?

SPIKE: Oh, so you wanna jump right to the kissing then, eh?

BUFFY: I am not kissing you, Spike. Once was-

SPIKE: Twice.

BUFFY: But not again.

SPIKE: You're a tease, you know that, Slayer? Get a fellow's motor revving, let the tension marinate a couple-a days, then bam! Crown yourself the ice queen.

BUFFY: Need a few more metaphors for that little mix?

SPIKE: It's only a matter of time before you realize I'm the only one here for you, pet. You got no one else!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

BUFFY: Great.

SPIKE: Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up.

BUFFY: What are you doing here, Spike?

SPIKE: Well, you know, a man was frozen alive in there. A little compassion, luv. Uh, you know, as long as we're both here, you might as well tag along. I mean, as a team we could-

BUFFY: Yeah, that never really ends well, does it?

SPIKE: It did the other night.

BUFFY: You really seem awfully fixated on a couple of kisses, Spike.

SPIKE: And you seem awfully quick to forget about them.

BUFFY: Look. I'm sorry, okay? I'm-I'm sorry if you thought that it meant more.

SPIKE: But...

BUFFY: But ... when I kissed you ... you know I was thinking about Giles, right?

SPIKE: You know, I always wondered about you two.

BUFFY: What? Oh, gross, Spike! He left. I was depressed. Ergo vulnerability and, and bad kissing decisions. Okay, but, that's all that it was. You have to let it go.

SPIKE: Did it work?

BUFFY: What?

SPIKE: You convince yourself?

BUFFY: Please, stop.

SPIKE: A man can change.

BUFFY: You're not a man. You're a thing.

SPIKE: Stop walking away.

BUFFY: Don't touch me!

Spike grabbed her shoulder and then Buffy turns around and punches him. Spike punches back and knocks her to the ground and stands there when he realizes that his head didn't go off from hitting her.

SPIKE: Ahh, ahh, ohh! (grabs his head and fakes the pain)

BUFFY: You're a thing. An evil, disgusting, thing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~