Not So Helpless

For: angstchic:
Rating: R
Request: AU. Spike is a highwayman from the horse and carriage days. Buffy and beau (Riley?) get detained. Stand and Deliver, baby! I see that Spike having a Season 2 flavor, but whatever works.

Response: AU. A simple robbery turns into something more.




“Why are we stopping? Richard, see what is the matter.” Elizabeth Summers fans herself in annoyance as her oafish fiance throws up the sash on the carriage window. The last thing she wants is to be stuck any longer than necessary in this small space with this man her family is forcing her to marry. Nice enough, but dumb. And rich. Which seems to be enough for them, if not for her.

As Richard pokes his head out, he is met by the muzzle of a pistol held to his forehead. Elizabeth shrieks.

“Nice and easy, mate. Let’s see your hands, eh?” The voice is thick like honey, deep and amused. The door starts to swing open as Richard lifts his hands. “Come on out here. Slowly.” Elizabeth holds her breath as Richard leaves the carriage. Before she can decide what to do, the door is darkened again by the figure of a man. She can see striking blond hair and a lean silhouette. “And what do we have here? A trembling lady? My favorite...” He climbs into the carriage and closes the door behind him, taking a seat opposite her. The light of the full moon washes over his face and Elizabeth sits straight up in shock.

“Wi - William??”

The man’s comfortable demeanor stiffens immediately. “You are mistaken. It’s Spike, milady. At your...service.” He takes her hand in his and plants a soft wet kiss on it. Elizabeth can hear a struggle outside and men swearing. Spike jerks away and yells out the window. “Tie the bleedin’ idiot up!” Pulling his head back in, he grimaces. “Rather a big bloke, isn’t he?”

No longer shaking, Elizabeth squints at him. “It is you, William. Don’t you recognize me?”

“I told you, my name is Spike.” She can see the tension in his neck. Apparently she is not playing the victim properly. He pulls her from the corner of the carriage so he can see her in the moonlight. His expression moves from angry to stunned in a heartbeat. “Bloody hell. Buffy?!”

“And I go by Elizabeth now, if you must know.” After a moment of stunned silence, they both start to snicker at the absurdity of the situation. They fall into an old banter of years past. “Actually, please call me Buffy. I hate Elizabeth. Does your mother know you’re a highwayman, taking advantage of helpless women and their clumsy fiances?”

“No, and let’s keep it that way, eh? So, he’s not your one true love?”

“Not sure she’d approve, Spike. Very tough, by the way. I was very scared. And no, not even close.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised. And who said I was taking advantage of helpless women?!”

“You mean, you’re not?” Buffy scoots a little closer, taking in his appearance. Tousled, wavy blond hair. Still striking eyes, even in the dark. Cheekbones, sharp. Shirt, half open, revealing a chiseled chest. She feels her heart beat faster. He has really grown up.

Spike gulps. Faced with his childhood crush was not part of his plan tonight. Have a little fun at the expense of the rich, drink some ale and sleep it off. Not this. Not her.

“You are a...dangerous man now, aren’t you?” She glances at the pistol slung in a belt on his hip. Nibbling her lip, she reaches out towards him. And then past him. She yanks the window shade down, sinking them into near darkness.

The next think Spike knows, her soft and delicate lips brush his. Her voice is very close. “I always was sweet on you, William. Even then, when you were a poet.”

Spike can’t believe the sight of Buffy has instantly sent him five years back in time. To a different life. To a different person. But the way he burns for her sure hasn’t changed. He feels his erection straining in his breeches.

Reading his mind, Buffy’s hand strays down and over his cock, making him jump. She grazes his mouth again, grateful for the serendipity of this night. Saved from the doldrums of marrying Richard by sweet William, grown into a handsome, rough man. If she plays her cards right.

“Let’s go. Kidnap me. My parents will pay you handsomely.” He can hear the smile in her voice. Her hand squeezes slightly, making him groan. “And so will I.”

“Bloody fuckin’ hell, Buffy. Say no more.” Spike puts his head out the window and yells at his man, now taken over the driver’s seat. “Let’s move it out!”

A soft feminine laugh flows from the dark cabin as Spike is yanked back inside.