IT NEVER HURT TO SEE HIM WITH HER BEFORE.

[ 5.14 ]

It was the grand re-opening of the Bronze after Olaf demolished it. This time around, the support beams holding up the upper level were much stronger. The club was packed with people, and a band was playing on the brand new, much fancier stage.

Xander and Anya were out on the dancefloor, as well as Tara and Willow. The girls had pulled Teddy along with them. He wasn't much for dancing — and he was also very bad at it, something he had in common with Kitty — but it was fun to watch him clumsily twirl Willow and Tara around to the upbeat song. Buffy and Kitty were sitting at a table, taking a break from the dancing to eat some snacks as they watched the others.

"Bleedin' crime, is what it is." Both Kitty and Buffy looked up as Spike came over, taking a seat next to Kitty. He set his beer on the table. "Jackin' up the bar price to pay for fixin' up this sinkhole. Not my fault insurance doesn't cover act of troll."

Kitty bit her lip to keep from laughing at the look on Buffy's face. There was a reason she and Spike didn't hang out when the others were around. It was because they hated him and would often sport the annoyed look Buffy was wearing now. She didn't know what he was thinking, sitting with them.

What he was thinking was totally Joyce's fault, by the way. When she gave Spike that relationship advice, she recommended he try to play nice with the rest of the gang, knowing how important they all were to Kitty. She'd be desperate for them to like anyone she was in a relationship with.

"Gee, maybe it's time you found a new place to patronize," Buffy said, continuing to eye Spike with disinterest.

But Spike didn't pick up on her attitude. He leaned back in his chair while casually slinging an arm over the back of Kitty's chair. "I've half a mind to! Especially since the flowering onion got remodeled off the sodding menu. 'S the only thing this place had going for it."

"Oh, not the onion," Kitty said, looking over her shoulder at the snack counter with a frown. "I can totally talk Carson into putting it back. BRB."

Once Kitty was gone, Buffy expected Spike to get up and follow her like he always did. But he met her eye and nodded, if not a bit awkwardly.

"So... how has your day been?" Spike asked slowly, doing his best to not grimace.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, frowning.

"Wha-what do you mean what am I—"

"Here? At this table? Talking to me. Like we're some kind of talking buddies," she specified flatly. "Kitty left. She's the only one that ever wants to talk to you."

"Well, you're her friend. Figured it wouldn't hurt to be friendly with her friends," he said, shrugging. Buffy raised an eyebrow accusingly. She didn't want him to be friendly with her. Spike rolled his eyes and got up. "Suit yourself!"

But then he came right back and sat down, causing Buffy to roll her eyes. "Although it's just, we took on that Glory chippie together, I was right there with you, fightin' the fight."

Spike was referring to the week before. At Buffy's birthday party, Dawn snuck out to the Magic Box. She ran into Spike, who accompanied her to make sure she didn't get eaten. When going through some Watcher journals, she learned that she was the mystical key that Glory was searching for.

Understandably, she didn't process that she was a thing dropped into all their lives who wasn't even meant to exist well. So, she ran away and ended up hiding out at the hospital for a while. But Glory was there too. While the god didn't know Dawn was the key, it still led to a nasty fight — which Spike helped out with.

Though, perhaps he was exaggerating when he said 'took her out together.'

"Actually, you were sleeping the sleep of the knocked unconscious," Buffy reminded him smugly.

"Still, points for intent," he muttered. "You'd think that would be enough to cut me a sliver of slack. Earn a little consideration, respect."

"Hey, uh, Evil Dead, you're in my seat," Xander said, coming over with Anya.

Spike sighed and just got up. "Bugger it. This is why I only like Kitty."

As Spike walked off with his beer, Xander took his seat and Anya sat next to him. "Xander, I think you may have hurt his feelings," she noted.

"And you should never hurt the feelings of a brutal killer," Xander said, rolling his eyes. Then he gave it some thought. "You know, that's, uh, that's actually some pretty good advice." They were then joined by Willow, Tara, and Teddy. "So, who's up for some more liquid refreshments? I'm buying, for I am Payday Man."

"I could use a water," Willow said, pulling out some aspirin. She'd used a powerful transportation spell to keep Glory from killing them all, and it was giving her wicked headaches and nosebleeds.

"Water poses no challenge for Payday Man, for I have—" Xander's rich superhero bit was cut off when he looked at the table where his change from the last round of food had been. All the bills were gone, leaving behind a few pennies and dimes. "Hey, where's my change?"

Buffy took one look at the coins and scowled. She looked at the bar, as did Xander. Spike was there, handing the bartender Xander's money as he bought another beer and a pink drink that was no doubt the Kitty special. Kitty was smiling at Spike, likely thinking that was his own money.

"Spike, you diabolical fiend," Xander muttered. Then he got up to go confront him.

"Poor Will," Buffy said, frowning. Tara was gently comforting Willow, who was getting a headache. "Still getting those headaches?"

"Fewer and further between, but yep, they're still exercising their visitation rights," she said, sighing.

"Honey, in case you didn't hear me the first six thousand times, no more teleportation spells," Tara warned.

"Well, it's just we have squat in the way of Glory-fighting arsenal, and another run-in with her and my headaches and nosebleeds are gonna be the least of our problems."

"You know what? This is the first RNR I've had in weeks," Buffy said. "How about we go one night without saying the name Glory."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "I'm down with that. Let's just call 'she who will not be named' another name," Tata said. "Let's just call her—"

"Ben!" Buffy interrupted, spotting the familiar intern from the hospital across the room. He had been with Dawn, watching her just before Glory arrived, and she had yet to thank him for taking care of her.

"For example," Tara said, at first thinking that's what they'd be calling Glory.

"I'll be right back," Buffy told them, getting up to go talk to Ben.

Over at the bar, Xander was pointlessly arguing with Spike about the money. Kitty at least felt bad and gave Xander the money for her own drink.

"The point is, I work hard for that money," Xander told Spike.

"And you're saying I didn't?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You stole it," he accused.

"And you're making it into very hard work," Spike whined.

"Listen, bleach boy, I don't have a chip in my head," Xander told him. "I can do far more damage to you than you can ever do to me."

"Yeah? Like you could ever hurt me," Spike said, rolling his eyes. "Kitten would stop you."

"I'd probably stop you," she said, shrugging. "Depends on how annoying he's been that day."

Spike scoffed. "I don't annoy you."

"Just yesterday you lied and said you didn't like my bucket hat after I asked if you wanted one like it when we both know it was super cute. See? Annoying," Kitty said matter-of-factly.

"I wasn't lying. If you get me a bucket hat, I will light it on fire," Spike said, quite serious about it.

Xander shook his head and wandered back to Anya, knowing the two were just going to keep talking for the rest of the night and ignore everyone else.

"Fine. I'll just get Harm one," she grumbled. "Why can't you be fashionable like your roommate? Or Teddy?"

Spike glanced at Teddy, who was now talking to Buffy. He was wearing baggy black jeans and a cropped football jersey that he insisted on buying after seeing Johnny Depp in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

"I'm not dressin' like Teddy," he said, shaking his head. "The Fresh Prince look he's always got goin' on works for him. And my look works for me."

"Jeans and a black t-shirt and a dead woman's coat," Kitty said, smiling playfully. He scoffed at that. Then she nudged Spike's shoulder. "Don't worry. I like your bland wardrobe that consists of tight shirts and that one red one that's my favorite."

"That's your favorite?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd have to wear it more often.

"Yeah, you look really handsome in it," Kitty said casually, sipping from her drink while looking at the crowd. It meant she missed the pleased look on Spike's face as she called him that. "Oh! Oh my god!"

"What?" Spike asked, wondering what she saw that was making her so excited.

"T asked Buffy to dance," she said, pointing them out in a crowd.

They both had big smiles on their faces as they danced around. Buffy needed a laugh after everything that's been going on, and Teddy's dancing definitely got a laugh. It wasn't a slow, romantic dance, but it was a start.

Teddy just had to get a foot in the door, and then he'd be set.

♡︎

The following day, Spike and Harmony enlisted Kitty's help with clearing out more of the lower level of the crypt. One side was already cleaned, and Spike was working on getting more furniture for it. He had a mattress and needed to find a good frame for it.

Of course, as soon as Harmony saw all the skeletons and cobwebs, she bailed. But Kitty and Spike still made a lot of progress.

"So, your big holiday is coming up," Spike said casually as they started toward the stairs. Valentine's Day was tomorrow, and everyone could feel the love any time they were near either of the Cupids. "Any plans?"

"Yeah!" she said, grinning. "Teddy and I are gonna hang out at the Bronze — do some love watching. Tara might come. Willow's headaches are still really bad, and the one she's had since last night still hasn't gone away. If it's still bad, she said for Tara to go have some fun, and they'd have a Valentine's Day thing once she feels better."

"Ah. Sounds like quite a night," he said, looking down. Perhaps he shouldn't have waited until the day before to try and make plans.

"Yeah, it'll be fun. It's T's first Valentine's," Kitty told him. Every holiday was Teddy's first holiday, but they practically owned this one.

Spike went up the stairs first, opening the hatch for them to crawl through. But he let out a surprised sound when he saw someone waiting in the crypt. Kitty quickly poked her head up and saw Dawn standing there.

"Oh, it's you," Spike said, him and Kitty getting out fully. "What are you doing here lurking about?"

"I'm not lurking. I'm looking," she told him. "What are you doing?"

"Remodeling," Kitty told her. She took off the thick gloves she'd been wearing to keep from getting splinters and cuts and tossed them in the corner.

"Is that how you get around town in the daytime?" Dawn asked, eying the hatch. "I mean, does that lead into the sewers or something? Can you show me?"

It did lead to some underground tunnels, but Spike wasn't going to tell her that and give her any ideas. Dawn was starting to make a habit out of running off.

"No," Spike lied. "Why are you — does Buffy know you're here?"

"Yeah, right," she said, scoffing. "'Cause nothing would make her happier than to find out I'm hanging out after school in the vampire's lair. Especially yours."

"Maybe you should go home, Dawn," Kitty said. Normally, she wouldn't care, but things were different now that they knew she was the key.

"I don't feel like it right now," she said.

Spike pulled out a cigarette to light despite the fact there was one tucked behind his ear. "Well, you can't bloody well stay here."

"Why not?"

"Because I've got things to do," he told her. Dawn crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically. "Bad, evil things!" Dawn tried to hide her grin, and it didn't help that Kitty was smiling too. "That are not for a child's eyes."

Dawn's smile dropped instantly. "I'm not a child," she muttered while leaning against a pillar. "I'm not even human. Not originally."

"Yeah, well, originally I was. I got over it," Spike said, sliding on top of the coffin to sit. "Doesn't seem to me it matters very much how you start out."

"Yeah," Kitty agreed, sitting next to him. "I was a mystical being on another plane of existence without a body before I was Kitty."

"That's smart. I get that," Dawn told them. She looked at Spike. "I like how you talk to me like I can understand things. Everyone else is being all... twitchy and secretive."

"They're just trying to keep you safe, I expect," Spike said.

"I feel safe with you," she declared.

Spike choked on his cigarette in horror and began coughing. Kitty giggled as he jumped off the coffin and looked at Dawn accusingly. "Take that back!"

"I mean, you have that whole superpower thing," Dawn said. "And you're just as tough as Buffy is, maybe tougher."

"Oh, Dawnster, no one is tougher than Buffy," Kitty said, patting Spike's shoulder. "Who will definitely punch him in the face once she finds out Dawn is here."

♡︎

Spike let Dawn stay a surprisingly long time at the crypt. The sun had already gone down, but Dawn was having too much fun to think about how much she was probably worrying Buffy and Joyce. Against Kitty's better judgment, she let Spike tell the young girl some of his horror stories back before he had the chip.

They were all three sitting on the casket, legs crossed and a lantern in between them for light. Kitty was leaning against Spike's shoulder as he went on with a story she'd already heard. It had Dawn hooked though.

"And the lady just invited you in?" Dawn asked in disbelief.

"Well, I had hubby by the throat, didn't I? Promised her he'd live if she gave me the invite," he told her.

"And did you? Let him live?" she asked eagerly.

"What do you think?" Kitty asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dawn frowned at that. "Huh."

"Too much for you?" Spike asked. He figured Kitty was right when she said Dawn was too young for some of this, but it hadn't deterred him.

"No! Keep going," Dawn quickly insisted. She was already invested.

"And I kill 'em. Right quick, the whole lot," Spike said, speaking in a whisper. He had a mischievous grin on his face. "But there's someone missing. Supposed to be... this little girl. So I get real quiet and I hear this tiny noise coming from the coal bin. This little sigh. So I listened harder, it's very, very quiet..."

Dawn was hanging onto every word, and so was Kitty even though she knew the ending. Spike was just a very good and dramatic storyteller.

But suddenly a loud noise filled the crypt as the door flew open, startling them. Dawn gasped and Kitty flinched and reached for Spike's arm. But then they saw Buffy coming in.

"Oh, bloody hell," Spike muttered, feeling a face punch coming.

"Spike, I need your help, Dawn is—" Buffy stopped short when she saw Dawn. "Here."

Dawn quickly got off the coffin, as did the others. "Spike was just telling a story, a-and he was just at this really cool part—"

"What the hell is this?" Buffy asked, looking at Spike and Kitty disapprovingly. "What is she doing here?"

"Just hanging out," Dawn said.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Here?"

"Kitty does it all the time!" Dawn argued. "Can you please let him finish the story? Then you could do the lecture?"

"Yeah. Okay," Buffy said, scowling at Spike while crossing her arms. "Let's hear the story that Spike is telling my little sister."

Spike grew nervous, knowing there would be an ass-kicking in his future if he told the truth. "Right. Yeah. So, uh, I knew the girl was in the coal bin. So I rip it open, very violent, haul her out of there — and then I give her to a good family in a nice home, where they're never ever mean to her, and didn't lock her in the coal bin."

Buffy rolled her eyes as Dawn shook her head. "What? That's so lame!"

"Spike is pretty lame," Kitty told her. "Def too lame for you to come around here again."

"Dawn, get your stuff, we're getting out of here," Buffy instructed. "You too, Kitty."

"What'd I do?" Kitty asked with a frown.

That was the wrong question to ask. Because Buffy fussed at her and Dawn as soon as they stepped out of the crypt. She was furious that Kitty didn't immediately take Dawn home, especially now that she knew about Dawn being the key. And once Buffy was done lecturing Kitty, she moved on to Dawn, feeling like a very stressed-out parent.

"Why doesn't that register with you? Crypt plus vampire equals bad," Buffy told her sister.

"'Cause it was Spike!" Dawn stated.

"Hanging out with Spike is not cool, Dawn, okay? It is, it is dangerous and icky," she said, cringing. She'd already had this conversation with Kitty a year ago after Spike got his chip.

Dawn then paused and had a sort of bashful smile on her face. "I don't think Spike's icky."

"Yeah, well, think again, sister—"

"You have a crush on Spike!" Kitty interrupted, pointing a finger at Dawn accusingly. She'd know, after all, because she too had a crush on Spike — a much more serious one. "My Cupid senses are tingling."

"No I don't!" she denied, her cheeks on fire. "It's just, he's got cool hair, and he wears cool leather coats and stuff. And he doesn't treat me like an alien."

"He does have cool hair," Kitty admitted under her breath.

"He's a killer, Dawn," Buffy told her. "You cannot have a crush on something that is... dead, and, and evil, and a vampire."

"Right, that's why you were never with Angel for three years," Dawn shot back.

"Point Dawn," Kitty muttered.

"Angel's different. He has a soul," Buffy said defensively.

"Ooh, point Buffy," Kitty continued.

"Spike has a chip," Dawn said, crossing her arms. "Same diff."

"Hmm, maybe like a quarter of a point," Kitty said, tilting her head.

"I-I can't listen to this!" Buffy said, throwing her arms up and sighing. "Spike is a monster, okay? A-and plus, you are only fourteen years old."

"I like hanging out with him is all. And even if I did have a crush, he wouldn't notice in a million years," Dawn said, glancing at Kitty. "Not with her around."

"What does that mean?" Kitty asked, frowning.

"Just forget it, Kitty," Buffy said. Yeah, she knew about Spike's little thing for Kitty and she didn't want her to know about it.

But Dawn loved blurting out information that she wasn't meant to. "Spike's totally into you."

Kitty looked at her in surprise. "No, he's not, Dawnie. He just likes me as a friend," she said, sad to say it out loud.

Dawn scoffed. "Oh, come on. You didn't notice? Kitty, Spike is completely in love with you."

"Y - you're just seeing things that aren't there," Kitty said, shaking her head. "Once you're older, you'll get that boys and girls can be friends without feelings."

"You and Xander are friends without feelings," Dawn stated. "Not you and Spike. Do you seriously not see it?"

"Dawn," Buffy said sharply. She didn't need Kitty thinking and getting ideas of Spike and romance in her head, especially when the most romantic holiday was around the corner. "We're going home now. Kitty, go straight to your apartment. I'll call Teddy and he'll snitch on you if not."

"Which really just goes to show how little influence Xander and I truly have over him."

♡︎

The following day, all the news was talking about was a massacre on a train that arrived at Sunnydale the previous night. Buffy was fairly sure it was of fang-y nature, so brought Xander and Teddy to sneak onto the crime scene. Buffy ripped down the police tape and stepped onto it.

"So, tell me again what we're looking for?" Xander asked.

"Clues."

"Okay," he muttered, following her. There was white tape in the shape of bodies that had died in the seats. "Could you give me a clue about what kind of clues?"

"Something. Anything," Teddy spoke up. He was looking at the compartments above the seats. "We wanna know if it was vampires and how many if so. There were a lot of victims, so it's likely more than one."

"Well, Sunnydale's finest didn't leave us a lot of stuff to examine," Xander said, looking around. Most everything had been cleaned up and taken in for evidence already. "Who knows how many people have traipsed through here."

Buffy seemed to be thinking about something other than the crime scene. "Xander? Teddy?"

"What?" both boys asked in sync, looking at her.

She started to speak but stopped herself. "Never mind." But then Buffy took one look at Xander and spilled. "I already told Teddy that he had a thing for her, but Dawn said... she thinks that Spike is full-on in love with Kitty."

Xander frowned for a second before bursting out laughing. It distracted from the wide-eyed, guilty look on Teddy's face.

"I'm not joking," Buffy told Xander.

"Oh, I hope not," he said, still laughing. "It's funnier if it's true."

"I'm serious. Xander, this is serious!" she snapped.

It took some effort, but he did manage to calm down. "All right." But then he snickered and began laughing again.

"It's creepy," Buffy stated.

"No. Not creepy. 'Cause, it's not real," Xander insisted. "He just spent a little too much time with her. Don't get upset over some fevered daydream that's not gonna happen."

"But what if it does happen?" Buffy asked desperately. "I-I mean, Spike's tricked Kitty into being friends. He did that so fast that none of us could stop it. What if he — what if she, I mean, we have to keep him away from her. She didn't believe Dawn when she said it, but still! There can be no feelings to develop — Teddy, why does your face look like that?"

Buffy had stopped her rant of worrying when she saw the guilty expression on Teddy's face. He quickly looked away under the guise of inspecting a bloodstain. "What do you know?" Buffy asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Hmm, Spike's thing might not be totally one-sided," Teddy muttered. Then he groaned. "Shit! I broke a pinky promise. Kitty's gonna kill me."

Xander and Buffy didn't care about the pinky promise as they stared at Teddy in disbelief.

"What?" Xander asked, appalled at the idea of his best friend having feelings for Spike. "No. No. Absolutely not in a million years would Kitty have a thing for him. No. No. No."

"It's, um, just a little crush," Teddy lied. If Kitty couldn't handle the truth of her being in love with Spike, neither could the others yet. "But she's in the heavy 'I will do nothing, this will never happen, I'll get over it' phase. So, probably nothing to worry about at the moment."

Xander shook his head repeatedly. "Okay, no. So, so here's what we'll do. We'll find a tower — a nice tower — and we'll buy it. Then we're gonna lock her in it until Will can find a spell to make her not crazy!"

"We aren't locking her in a tower," Buffy said, shaking her head. "But we are going to keep them apart."

Teddy sighed. "You know you can't really do that. They hang out, like, every day. Kitty's never let anyone tell her who to be friends with. Exhibit Faith, Harmony, and Clem."

"Well, we can't let these delusions grow into something worse!" Buffy said, frowning.

Teddy shook his head, knowing there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. It had been going on for months between Spike and Kitty, and soon, it'd all have to come out on both sides.

♡︎

Kitty was surprised when Spike asked her to stake out a warehouse with him where two vampires were hiding. He figured they might have been the ones to attack the train station. When Kitty asked why he didn't go to Buffy, his excuse was that he didn't want to go to her with the information until they were sure.

So, Kitty agreed to sit with him in a car a few yards away from the door. They arrived just after sunset, and Kitty made it clear that she had to be done by eight-thirty so she could get ready to go to the Bronze for her Valentine's plans with Teddy.

No, it wasn't a date, but Spike would take any time with her on the holiday that he could get.

As they sat, Spike reached across Kitty to open the glove compartment, neither caring as he brushed up against her. She raised an eyebrow as he pulled out a flask and took a drink from it. Then he silently offered it to her.

"No, I don't want your blood, Spike," Kitty said, cringing. "I know I'm comfortable around it now but—"

"It's not blood, Kitten," he said, rolling his eyes playfully. "It's bourbon."

"I've never had bourbon," she told him, eying the flask warily. "Does it taste bad?"

That earned another eye roll. Spike then held the flask to her lips so she could try it properly. Kitty reluctantly took a sip only to regret it immediately. It was horrible, but she made herself swallow it instead of spit it back in the flask, coughing after the fact. Then she pulled the most disgusted face while wiping her tongue on her sleeve to get rid of the taste. The sequence of events made Spike laugh, knowing she was going to hate it.

"Another sip?" he asked teasingly. Kitty just shook her head. "Suit yourself."

Kitty looked back at the entrance to the warehouse. "You got any music?"

"Yeah, not The Beach Boys though," he said, grinning. "Should be a Ramones CD in the glovebox. You'll like them."

Kitty opened the glove compartment and started digging for his CD book. But she stopped when they saw two vampires leaving the warehouse, ready to go out for the night.

"Ooh, showtime," Kitty whispered, rubbing her hands together excitedly. They weren't going to confront the vampires — just look around the place to see if they were the ones on the train.

After getting out of the car, Spike and Kitty crept into the warehouse. It was evident that the vampires has been there for a while. There was a wrecked sofa and blankets and clothes and even a bag of popcorn on an unplugged hotplate.

"Well, they're not the train guys," Kitty said, pouting.

"How do you figure?" Spike asked, looking around.

"Well, they've been here a while. They've nested. Whoever did it only arrived in town last night, Buffy said," she said, shrugging. "Liked hanging out, but kind of a waste of time when I could've been getting ready."

"Ah, sorry 'bout that," Spike told her as Kitty headed to the door. He hurried after her and arrived in time to pull the door open for her.

Kitty paused and looked at him, suddenly very curious about his behavior. "What are you doing?"

"I-I was just, uh..." Spike scoffed. "I wasn't thinking."

"Spike," Kitty said slowly. "What is this? With the stakeout and the flask and the suspects that I'm pretty sure you knew were fakes on Valentine's Day?"

"Uh..." Spike didn't know what to say.

"Is... this a date?" Kitty dared to ask.

"A d — please!" Spike said loudly, pretending to be amused. Kitty's frowned at his reaction. "A date? You are completely off your bird. I mean—" Spike then lowered his voice and looked at her hopefully. "Do you want it to be?"

"Do you?" Kitty shot back, feeling her pulse speed up as she looked at Spike with wide eyes. "I mean, is that — did you want a date?"

"Would that be such a surprise?" he asked softly, shrugging. "I mean, come on, Kitten. You can't deny it. There's... something between us. Always has been."

Kitty bit her lip and glanced down, trying to calm her racing thoughts. Finally, she looked back up at him, and Spike was relieved to see she didn't look disgusted. "First dates don't typically include stakeouts and warehouses. They happen at restaurants and movie theaters and parks."

"Right. I'll, uh, take notes," he muttered, figuring she wasn't impressed. "I know you've got plans, but maybe on another night we could try out one of those places?"

"We're, um, gonna be at the Bronze around nine-thirty," she told him, feeling a bit shy all of the sudden. "I'm sure Tara and Teddy wouldn't mind if I left them on their own if you were to show up. That is if you really did want a date tonight."

♡︎

Spike couldn't stop smiling as he entered his crypt. In less than an hour, he would be on a date with Kitty, finally. And nothing on earth could ruin the high he was riding from the fact. He was anxious to change into that red shirt she liked so much and arrive early so he could steal away every minute possible with her.

However, Spike paused when he felt someone else's presence in his crypt — and it wasn't his bubbly crypt-mate. "Who's there?" he asked suspiciously, searching the shadows. Most of the candles were out, making it difficult to see the recesses of the mausoleum.

A voice came from behind him, one he hadn't planned on ever hearing again. "A happy memory, pretty Spike." He whirled around with wide eyes and watched as Drusilla walked out of the shadows, holding a blood-red rose. "Look who's come to make everything right again."

It was a long while before Spike quit being so astonished that he couldn't speak. That was fine, anyway, as Drusilla was going on about what she'd been up to in LA. He hadn't even known she was back in North America — not that he particularly cared anymore.

"So, uh, let me get this straight," Spike said, frowning. "Darla got mojo'd back from the beyond, you vamped her, and now she and you are working on turning Angel into his own bad self again."

"Mm-hmm."

"Sounds fun," he said flatly. That was a lie, as the last time Angelus was around, fun was far from what Spike had.

"It is. Like lollipops at the circus," Drusilla said, smiling. Then she frowned and gently touched a healing burn on her chest. "Although didn't care for Angelus setting us on fire."

"And this has got you, what, all nostalgic now, has it?" Spike asked bitterly.

"I want us to be a family again, my William," she said, moving closer. She hovered her mouth next to his ear as she whispered. "Come back with me."

"To Los Angeles?" he asked with a frown. "I've done the whole L.A. scene, Dru. Didn't agree with me. Besides, I've got a sweet little setup here in Sunny-D. Decent digs, not to mention all the tasty townies I can eat."

As Spike took a seat in his armchair, Drusilla rubbed one finger against the other in a scolding manner, picking up on his lie. "Naughty! Shh. You needn't make up stories. I already know why you're not coming. Poor boy."

Spike's mind was immediately filled with thoughts of hazel eyes, a sticker-covered skateboard, and cherry lip gloss.

"Tin soldiers put funny little knick-knacks in your brain. Can't hunt! Can't hurt! Can't kill!" Drusilla went on, holding her head and jerking it. "You've got a chip."

Drusilla tried to put her hands on Spike's head, but he got up and moved away. "Right, so you've heard. Poor Spike's become a cautionary tale for vampires, right? You better be good, kiddies, or else they might wire you up someday!" He angrily kicked something across the crypt in frustration.

"I don't believe in science," Drusilla declared, coming back over to him. "All those bits and molecules no one's ever seen. I trust eyes and heart alone. And do you know what mine is singing out right now?" She took his hand and placed it on her heart. "You're a killer. Born to slash and bash and—" She let out a gasp of pleasure as she squeezed Spike's hand on her chest. "Oh, bleed like beautiful poetry. No little tinker-toy could ever stop you from flowing." Drusilla's breathing picked up, already getting excited.

Spike frowned as he listened to her. "You never liked my poetry, pet," he reminded her. Then he shook his head. "And the pain, love, you don't understand, it's... it's searing. It's, um, blinding. "

Drusilla placed her hands on the top of his head and pulled it down toward her. "All in your head. I can see it — little bit of plastic, spider-webbing out nasty blue shocks. And every one is a lie. Electricity lies, Spike. It tells you you're not a bad dog, but you are."

She ran her hand around behind his head and then across his face, taking his chin and lifting it so he'd look at her. Drusilla let out a playful growl, hoping she'd awoken something in him.

All she woke up was a plan to get rid of her forever.

Spike gazed into Drusilla's eyes, wishing they were someone else's as she growled playfully. The moment was interrupted by the other occupant of the crypt coming in.

"Who the heck is this?" Harmony asked, dropping her shopping bags.

"Oh, bloody hell," Spike muttered, turning to look at her.

Harmony eyed Drusilla unimpressed. "Oh, Spikey, I thought you were over her, but now you're hiring some cheap queen of the damned to dress up like your precious Drood-zilla."

"Harm," Spike said in annoyance.

"Seriously, move on with someone that's not a total wacko—"

"Harm, you moron, this is Drusilla," he told her. Drusilla watched with a small smile.

"Oh," Harmony said, walking toward Drusilla. "We may not be together anymore, but you've got some nerve showing up here like this. After all this time. After breaking my sweet boo-boo's heart."

Drusilla looked over Harmony's shoulder at Spike and mouthed the word 'boo-boo,' clearly amused. Spike simply shrugged, glad she hadn't used Blondie Bear.

"Do you have any idea how hard it's been to break down the walls he put up after you left?" she went on. "I mean, serious trust issues."

"Harm—"

"So it's no use you crawling back to him, 'cause Spikey don't play that game anymore, Morticia—"

As Harmony turned back to Spike, he grabbed her by the throat. "It's been fun while it lasted, Harm, but I think it'd be best now if you move out. Three's a bit too crowded."

Spike threw her across the room, and she hit the wall, sliding down to the floor while holding her throat. "Why? Because she's back?" she asked, clearly hurt by being kicked out.

"No," Spike said, moving to Drusilla. "Because I am."

Drusilla smiled as Spike put his arm around her waist, pulling her against him. "And there you are, my darling, deadly boy. No wings to be found — I knew I was right to ask Angelus to take them." Then Drusilla pulled him into a deep kiss to seal the deal, hardly giving him time to process her confession.

♡︎

Kitty was all smiles and giggles as she stood with Teddy and Tara in the Bronze. Willow's headache was still killer, and she was currently at the apartment with Giles, who was searching through his books for ways to help it.

For Valentines' Day — for her date — Kitty pulled out all the stops. Though Glory was evil and trying to kill them, that didn't stop Kitty from pulling the gorgeous red dress from her out of the closet. It fit her like a glove, and Kitty hoped it would drive Spike crazy with how tight and short it was. The look was complete with red heels, golden eyeshadow, pink blush dusted over her nose and cheeks, and cherry-flavored lip gloss.

Teddy and Tara were both well aware that Kitty would be ditching her for the sudden date with Spike. Neither was surprised nor mad — it shocked Kitty that Tara wasn't surprised, but she didn't bother to question her. All that was left to do was wait for Spike to arrive.

"Want to go up to the top?" Tara asked over the band playing. "That way you can spot him as soon as he gets here."

"Yeah," she said, grinning.

The three of them made their way up to the second level of the Bronze. No one else was up there, giving them room to spread out and talk.

"So, what were Anya and Xander up to, tonight?" Teddy asked Kitty.

"Xander is taking her to a fancy sushi place. She really likes the food there," Kitty told them. "If they're not too busy having sex, I'm sure they'll stop by home just to see how Willow is doing. We're all worried about her."

"She'd get better if she'd cool it with the small spells," Tara told them. "But you know Willow — always wanting to help."

"Well, Buff understands that her health comes first, so we don't have to worry about anyone asking Willow for spells," Teddy told her. "She'll be back in shape in no time with nurse Tara helping her."

"Nurse Tara is a bottle of aspirin, ice packs, and water," she said, grinning. "Anyone can be Nurse Tara."

"It's a scientific fact that you heal faster when the love of your life is doing the helping," Kitty claimed.

"Oh, and what scientific journal did that come from?" Tara asked, giggling.

"The, uh, Cupid Journal of Love Medicine," Kitty claimed.

"She's speaking the truth," Teddy lied, an easy smile on his face. "We're co-authors."

"So, the two authors of a love journal are single. That makes sense," Tara said, nodding.

"Hey!" Kitty said, laughing. "I have a date. Which is, like, so crazy. I have a date. I have a date with Spike."

She really couldn't stop smiling. Nothing could ruin her happiness.

Except something did about two minutes later.

"I see Captain Peroxide!" Teddy called, spotting his hair as he entered the building.

"Who's that with him?" Tara asked, leaning over the railing to get a better look.

Kitty moved in between the two so she could search the crowd. Like Teddy, she found him based on his white hair. Spike was dressed in tight black jeans and a matching t-shirt. He also wore her favorite red button-down open over it. But Kitty couldn't really focus on his appearance.

Not when he had Drusilla on his arm.

"Who is that?" Teddy asked, watching how Kitty's face fell.

"That's Drusilla," Kitty said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I, uh, I think I know who was on the train."

"Should you go ask what she's doing here?" Tara asked, frowning.

"I know what she's doing here," she said, already feeling her eyes sting.

Spike led Drusilla by her hand to the dance floor as a slow, sensual song began to play. He put his arms around her, pulling her closer while dipping his head down to brush his nose along her jaw. Then Drusilla turned in his arms and pressed her back to him. He clutched her hips, grinding up against them.

Drusilla's dark, haunting eyes traveled upward, feeling someone's gaze on them. And when she saw Kitty, she grinned smugly. Drusilla leaned her head back on Spike's shoulder and ran a hand along his cheek. Then, without giving him a chance to look up, she pulled him down into a long kiss, complete with wandering hands.

Kitty couldn't think or breathe or say anything as she watched, tears welling in her eyes before falling. And then she bolted, giving Teddy and Tara no warning. Through blearly vision, she made it down to the first level and ran out the back emergency exit so she wouldn't have to see Spike and Drusilla again.

Then she broke down sobbing, leaning against the cold brick wall for support. Her chest ached and burned horribly as her mind played the scene over and over again, torturing her. Slowly, she slid down the wall, not caring as it got dirt on her pretty dress.

"Kitty," Teddy said softly. He and Tara had chased after her.

Kitty shook her head and immediately wiped at her eyes. "I'm fine. I'm fine!" she insisted. Though the way she choked on a sob showed how not fine she was. "He can — we aren't — I don't care."

"Kitty," Tara said, crouching in front of her. "It's okay to care, to be sad. We know how you feel about him. We know how much this hurts."

"It - it shouldn't — it never hurt to see him with her before," she said, her face crumpling even more. "I don't - I don't know why I — why does it hurt this much?"

Teddy joined Tara, crouching before her. He gently cupped Kitty's face, using his thumbs to wipe away tears that were immediately replaced. "Only love hurts like that, Kitty."

As Kitty shook her head, she coughed, getting choked up even more. "No, I don't - I don't—"

"Kitty," Teddy interrupted, a bittersweet look on his face. He carefully turned Kitty's head the slightest bit so she could see behind her.

A flash of white hit her vision. Kitty's breath got stuck in her throat as she caught sight of the large, fluffy wings that had been gone for so long. But there they sat, feathers ruffling in the breeze as if Angelus never carved them off her back.

Kitty's chin quivered as she stared at them, and a new wave of tears hit her. She collapsed against Teddy, hiding her face in his chest so she wouldn't have to see the wings as she cried.

Something she'd longed for since the moment she lost them, and now they were a constant reminder of Spike's hands on Drusilla's body, lips on her skin. A reminder that Kitty loved him, and it didn't seem that he loved her.

♡︎

Teddy was hesitant when he opened the door to the apartment, peeking his head in. The living room wasn't empty like he hoped. Anya and Xander were curled up on the loveseat, while Willow was laying out in the recliner. Giles brought her a warm washcloth to put over her forehead. But they all looked up at Teddy when he came in. He had Kitty's heels in his hand, which he sat on the desk.

"Right," Teddy muttered. "Of course, you're all here."

"Have fun at the Bronze?" Willow asked, closing her eyes.

"Something happened," Teddy said, wringing his hands nervously. "And, uh, you're gonna be shocked. But don't say a single word until Tara gets Kitty upstairs."

"Teddy, what's this about?" Giles asked, frowning. He didn't like the look on his face.

"Is Kitty hurt?" Xander asked, getting off the couch quickly.

"Just, uh, I'll tell you. But I'm serious — not a word until she's upstairs," he warned again.

"We promise," Willow said softly.

Teddy nodded before looking back at the door. "Okay. Come on."

The reactions were varied as Tara slowly led a barefoot Kitty into the apartment. The Cupid was still bawling her eyes out loudly and looked a mess with glittery eyeshadow and mascara running down her face. She leaned heavily on Tara and neither girl looked at the others to see what they were thinking,

Anya's jaw was practically on the floor. Willow covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. Xander had to grab the back of the couch as his knees buckled. Giles removed his glasses and sank into a chair, not entirely sure he was seeing correctly.

The set of wings on Kitty's back were drooping, feathers dragging across the floor as Tara took Kitty up the stairs. Everyone's eyes were glued to them until they disappeared from sight and the sound of Kitty's bedroom door closing hit their ears. Then everyone's eyes snapped to Teddy, desperate for an explanation.

"What the fuck? H-how?" Xander asked, waving his hands frantically. "Angel took them! How?"

"And w-why is she crying like that?" Willow asked, frowning. "Isn't getting her wings back a happy thing? Those definitely weren't happy tears."

"Yeah, that was like Vengeance Demon summoning sadness," Anya said, still looking at the stairs.

Teddy looked at the ground, knowing they weren't going to be happy. "She saw something at the Bronze that upset her a lot. But it also made her realize something," he said, keeping the details vague. "It led to her getting her wings back."

"What could she have realized to make her—"

"Who?" Giles asked, cutting Willow off. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I didn't even know she liked som — who is it?"

"Who is what?" Anya asked cluelessly.

Giles sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Back when Kitty first lost the wings, I searched countless books for a way to get them back, to possibly regrow them. One book, well, we weren't certain, as half the contents were insane and the other half true," he explained. "The book claimed that a banished Cupid that lost their wings could regain them only one way. They had to be in love with someone."

"Kitty's in love?" Willow asked, tilting her head. Then she smiled. "But that's great, isn't it? Or I guess not if she's crying like that. Did, I mean, did this person reject her?"

"Not in as many words," Teddy muttered.

"But who is it?" Anya asked. "She's never even brought anyone to meet us—"

"Oh no," Xander interrupted, his face going pale. Then he looked at Teddy, genuine fear and concern in his eyes. "Oh no. No. No! It was supposed to be a joke. Haha funny! This is not haha funny. Please tell me no. Not - not him."

Teddy grimaced and nodded reluctantly. Xander angrily kicked the side of the couch, managing to slide it back a few feet. "They had a, uh, date tonight. Well, they were supposed to."

"A date?" Xander asked in alarm. "A date? With him? Is she insane?"

"What's going on. Xander, who are you talking about?" Willow asked.

Xander glared at Teddy, not actually angry at him but the one responsible. "What the hell did he do to her, huh? He's supposedly in love with her too, according to Dawn. But that sobbing shell of a Kitty sure as hell doesn't seem like someone who feels very loved right now."

"He brought someone else," he told them. "Kitty saw them dancing and then she saw them kissing. Ran out a crying mess — next thing Tara and I see are wings."

"For god's sake," Giles said impatiently, putting his glasses back on. "Would you and Xander care to clue the rest of us in?"

"Who was he with?" Xander asked, continuing to ignore the others while questioning Teddy. "What, Harmony?"

"Harmony?" Willow asked, now more confused.

Teddy shook his head. "It, uh, was Drusilla. Seems she's back in town. Didn't take her very long to find him."

"Drusilla?" Giles repeated, his frown deepening. Then his eyes slowly grew wider and he shook his head. "That means she'd be with - and that means Kitty is? Him? Him?"

"Him," Teddy confirmed.

Willow leaned forward, hardly able to wrap her head around it. "Spike?"

"Mhmm."

It was so silent you could hear a hairpin drop as they all processed what Teddy was telling them. And of course, Xander was the first to find his words again.

"Oh my god. Oh my god," he said, clearly disgusted. "She's insane. Kitty has lost it. We've got to find a nice nuthouse to send her to because she's officially certifiable."

"I mean, it's not that insane," Anya said, shrugging.

"Do you hear yourself?" Willow asked, narrowing her eyes. "Kitty thinks she's in love with Spike. That's insane."

"Well, they're very close and they spend all that time together," Anya said, shrugging. "I mean, I think it's gross, but I guess it makes sense when you take the time to think about it."

"It doesn't matter how much sense it makes!" Xander snapped. "We have to find Buffy, and she has to stake him."

"We need to talk to Kitty," Giles said, shaking his head. "It's - it's wrong. He's a monster, and he'd certainly never love her in return. This can only end horribly. I should've put a stop to it — kept her from spending so much time with him."

"Giles," Teddy said, sighing. "None of us can just talk her out of being in love with Spike."

"God, just hearing you say it makes me nauseous," Willow grumbled.

"Look, no one is going to lock her up or yell at her for this. She's already having a bad enough night," Teddy said, frowning. "And I don't — there's no telling what will happen if Drusilla stays in town. But before seeing him with her at the Bronze, I would've bet all my money on the fact that he loved Kitty too."

"I can call my friend Halfrek," Anya offered. "She's a very fearsome vengeance demon. Kitty could wish for Spike and Drusilla to burn in hell forever."

"In this instance, I'm okay with the vengeance demon approach," Xander said, taking Anya's side. "Let's get Kitty to make with the wishing."

Teddy sighed and rubbed his forehead. "For the last time, we cannot stop this. She is already in love with Spike. You can't just undo those feelings."

"But we can keep him away from her." They all turned to see Buffy standing in the doorway. She'd arrived and caught the very end of the conversation. While she didn't know about the wings, she got the general idea that Kitty was in love with Spike and saw him with Drusilla.

"God, Buffy, the worst thing in the world has happened," Xander said, walking over to her. Teddy rolled his eyes at his dramatics. "Where have you been. We are in a DEFCON One situation right now."

"I was with Spike," Buffy informed them. "And Drusilla."

"What do you mean with them?" Giles questioned, getting off the couch.

Buffy rolled her eyes in annoyance at the vampires she'd finished dealing with. "Spike has some... dumbass plan where he lured Dru into a trap. It was so I could stake her, and he could prove to Kitty's friends that he was a changed man or something," she said, shaking her head. "But then, as with all dumbass plans, it went sideways. Drusilla escaped and nearly killed me. Harmony showed up for some reason and shot Spike with a crossbow. And I am so over this day."

"If Spike tried to kill Drusilla, why was he macking on her in the Bronze?" Anya asked. "How does that help the plan?"

"Like I said — dumbass," Buffy repeated. Then she groaned. "Are you serious? Kitty is in love with him?"

"So much in love that big, fluffy wings sprouted," Xander muttered.

"What?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Giles said, frowning. "We all saw them. She's upstairs with Tara as we speak, trying to calm down, I imagine."

"Seeing Spike with Drusilla... she's not handling it well," Teddy told Buffy. "And if any of you make it worse, you'll have me to deal with."

"Fine," Buffy said, crossing her arms. "We won't take it out on Kitty. We'll take it out on Spike."

"You can't just kill him because you don't approve—"

"I'm not gonna kill him," she said, even though she wanted to. "But this is not happening — the two of them. Kitty's feelings may be real, but his aren't."

Teddy sighed. "You don't know that, Buffy. Spike deserves a chance to—"

"To what? Manipulate her? Kill her? Let Stockholm Syndrome set in after he kidnaps her?" she interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "I'm the vampire Slayer. He's a vampire.  I'll take care of this how I see fit."

Teddy crossed his arms. "Well, I'm a Cupid. They're in love. I say we let this play out between them without intervening."

"I'm sorry, Theo, but this isn't a debate. We're doing this my way."

"And just what does your way entail?"

♡︎

Spike's head was down as he walked up to the apartment door. His night only got worse and worse from the moment Drusilla appeared, and each step of his plan failed or backfired. Drusilla was still alive, Harmony was mad at him for kicking her out — okay, so he wasn't horrible torn up about that one. But any chance of him winning over Kitty's friends was over, as Buffy was super pissed about the whole Drusilla situation.

And to top it off, he missed his date with Kitty because of all of it. But Spike was hoping Kitty would understand why he tried so hard to get rid of Drusilla for good, as she knew how important it was in order for him to fully move on from the monster he used to be.

When Spike knocked on the door, it only took a few seconds for someone to answer it. He frowned when he saw Buffy on the other end, having hoped to not see her anytime soon — she had just punched him in the face not thirty minutes ago.

"Oh, you," he said, rolling his eyes.

"You," Buffy said flatly. Over her shoulder, Spike could see most of the gang, but not Kitty. "What do you want?"

Spike sighed. "Look, it's nothin' to do with you. I just need to pop in and talk to Kitty. Apologize. I missed something really important—"

"A date. I know," she interrupted, glaring at him.

"She told you?" he questioned with a frown.

"Oh, no, she was far too busy crying her eyes out to get words out. But Teddy told us about seeing you and Dru at the Bronze," she informed him.

Spike's face crumbled. "She's crying?" He tried to look further into the apartment.

"Not anymore," Buffy lied. If they stayed quiet enough, they could've heard it from the bottom floor. "Because seeing you pathetically crawl back to Drusilla made her realize that you're not worth her time. And now she's laughing at the fact that she ever had a crush on someone like you. Because like I said, Spike, she's beneath you — now she thinks so too."

"N-no, she, she wouldn't - doesn't—" Spike took a moment, shaking his head. "Slayer, you know that I didn't go back to Dru, not really. And once I tell Kitty that—"

"You're not gonna tell Kitty anything," she interrupted. "This is your warning. I want you out. I want you out of this town, I want you off this planet! You don't come near Kitty, her friends, or her family again ever! Understand?"

"No, it's not that easy. Kitty and I have something real, even if you don't want to admit it," he told her. "There's nothing either one of us can do about it. Like it or not, I'm in her life, she can't just shut me out."

Spike moved forward, planning to just push Buffy aside and let himself into the house. But he was stopped suddenly by an invisible force, preventing him from entering. Buffy stood on the other side, a grin look on her face. Spike stared at the barrier in surprise, the realization sinking in that his invite had been revoked — just as it had at the other houses as well. 

"At Kitty's request," Buffy added before slamming the door in his face.

Then the Slayer turned to face the others. It was evident that the group had all taken different sides. Willow and Xander were with Buffy, a united, anti-Spike front. Anya was surprisingly siding with Teddy, thinking that Spike deserved a chance to be good just like Xander gave her a chance.

And Giles, well, Giles was conflicted. He hated Spike, so much so that he wouldn't lose an ounce of sleep if Buffy had staked him at the door. But he also didn't like seeing Kitty hurt, and if they didn't give Spike a chance to clear the air, she'd be hurt for a long time. Then again, he'd rather cut off his own hand that even think about Kitty and Spike together.

"You really think that'll actually keep him at bay? That Kitty won't invite him back in?" Teddy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She won't if she thinks Spike really is still in love with Drusilla," she said. "And none of you are going to tell her otherwise."

Teddy scoffed, growing more annoyed and frustrated with Buffy with each new step in her plan. "Yeah. Cause that's gonna work out flawlessly."

The conversation was put on hold when they heard someone come down the stairs. They all looked up to see Kitty holding Tara's hand and looking at the ground. Her face was cleaned off and she changed into one of Giles' sweaters and a pair of pajama pants. She wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes were red, and she looked on the brink of tears still. And the wings were still there, drooping sadly, lifelessly as if to represent how she was feeling.

"I, um, I heard the door slam," she mumbled. "Is everything okay?"

Kitty was internally wishing that it was Spike at the door, coming to see her. To explain that it was all some big misunderstanding.

"That was Harmony," Buffy lied, crossing her arms. Teddy rolled his eyes and turned away. "Spike kicked her out of the crypt because Drusilla doesn't want her there. She just came to warn us, in her words, that 'Spikey is a meanie again.' He doesn't want anything to do with us."

"Which can't say I'm complaining," Xander muttered, going along with the lie.

They all saw Kitty's bottom lip quiver, but she didn't start fully crying again. "So, uh, Drusilla's sticking around?"

"Not sure," Buffy said. "I know she's been causing trouble in LA. She might go back. But, uh, can't say any of us are surprised about Spike crawling back to her now that she's interested again."

Kitty was surprised. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna go to bed, I think. But, uh, H-Happy Valentine's Day."

"Are you sure you're okay to be alone?" Tara asked her softly, frowning.

Kitty nodded and forced a sad smile. She quickly hugged Tara. "Thanks for helping me, um, calm down."

"Of course," she said. "Happy Valentine's Day, Kitty."

No one else said anything to Kitty as she went back upstairs — they didn't know what to say. As soon as Kitty shut the door, she leaned back against it and took in a deep, shaky breath. Then when she crawled onto her bed and hid her face in her stuffed animals, she wanted to completely disappear. Maybe disappearing would make it hurt less.

Kitty rolled on her back and looked up, which was a mistake. Taped to the bottom of the top bunk bed was Spike's poem. It caused a new wave of pain to wash over her as tears formed and fell down the sides of her face. Kitty raised a finger, gently touching the words.

I will wait forever for your soul
As mine aches for it

"Bullshit," Kitty whispered to herself, continuing to read.

You, my fate, my eternity
My Kitten

How foolish of Kitty to believe Spike could've possibly meant the words she read each night.

She ripped the poem off the bed frame, unable to stand it anymore. Kitty crumbled it up but still didn't have it in her to throw it away. Instead, she held it to her chest and she turned to the wall and cried over it and Spike.

And as Kitty continued to cry her eyes out alone in the dark, her wings wrapped around her like a thick blanket.