Chapter 8
Buffy woke to find Spike
staring down at her. His head was propped on his hand while the fingers of his
other hand softly stroked her arm. He smiled when he saw her eyes open. She
waited for a reaction from herself. Maybe shoving him away anytime he was too
close like she usually did or maybe make a joke about giving
in to her need for him and the amazing sex they’d shared late into the night.
She couldn’t though. His gaze was so tender that it made her melt inside. No
one had ever conveyed so much with one look. There was love, protection, and a
happiness she had brought to him.
“Hey,” Buffy whispered,
trailing a finger along his jaw. “Is it morning?”
“I think so,” Spike replied.
“It’s still storming outside so I’m not quite sure.” He laughed. “I guess we
can form our own time here.”
“How lovely,” Buffy
breathed, rolling onto her back. She stretched her body like a cat after a long
nap. A yawn escaped her as she pressed her hands against the headboard. “I
can’t remember the last time I could sleep without having a half dozen problems
racing through my mind.”
“So, go back to sleep,”
Spike whispered, kissing her shoulder. “I’ll keep an ear and eye open for
anything. Not that I think we’ve got too much to worry about here.”
“Ditto that,” Buffy said,
with a short laugh. Her body was aching in all the right places from earlier.
Somehow she’d always known that Spike would be a good lover. Watching him
maneuver his lean, muscular body in fights let her know that he did know how to
move. He’d proven that her suspicions about his prowess were right. She
couldn’t help but smile at the way he brought her so easily to satisfaction
even without the aid of the balm. That had just taken her completely to the top,
but it was his expertise that had taken her over the edge. “Nah, I don’t think
sleep is what I want,” Buffy flirted, batting her eyes up at him.
“What exactly do you want,
Luv?” Spike asked, sliding his hand along her stomach.
“A hot bath,” Buffy replied
with a giggle. She saw the disappointment on his face before he quickly hid it.
“Do you want to join me?” She tugged on his hand.
“Yeah, I would.”
Not bothering to cover up
they made their way into the bathroom. She started the water running then
poured some of the sweet smelling bubble bath into it. Spike was wandering
around the room lighting candles. It was a very romantic atmosphere; Buffy
decided swirling her hand through the water.
Maybe it would be time to
tell Spike how she felt about him. She knew she loved him. He was the only one
who really understood her and was there for her no matter what. Without
questioning it, she knew he would die for her or for Dawn. The run in with
Glory had proven that. It was just easier to admit it here without the
disapproval of her friends and all the rules and protocols of being the Slayer.
“Ready?” Spike asked,
running his hands along her shoulders.
His question startled her,
making her think that he could read her mind. Then she realized he was talking
about getting in the tub, and she laughed. “Yeah, I am.”
He held her hand to let her
step in first then he stepped in behind her. Settling back, his arms wrapped
around her waist. He just held her. No pressure. No confrontation, just an
acceptance of who and what she was. He wanted her, the real Buffy, not just the
young girl, nor just the woman, not even just the Slayer. He wanted all of her
and she was one lucky person to have found someone like that. Now she just had
to figure out how to tell him.
“I guess it didn’t work,”
Buffy said with a short laugh.
“What didn’t work, pet?”
“You know,” She replied
without thinking about the implications of her words. “The us
having sex. It didn’t get us home.”
“Bloody hell,” Spike
bellowed, pushing her forward. “I should have known better.” He climbed out of the
tub while Buffy tried to piece together what she’d just done. “Guess you think
I’m just a stupid git for believing that the precious slayer would soil her
hands by sleeping with the likes of me.” He grabbed a towel then stomped from the
room.
“Ah, shit,” Buffy muttered
as she finally put it together. “Spike, it’s not what I meant,” she called
after him. She tried to get out of the tub but slipped and fell on her bottom
sending water splashing everywhere. The door of the bedroom slammed. “Stupid,
stupid, Buffy,” she muttered when she regained her footing and ran for the
bedroom. Frantic, she grabbed a robe and took off after Spike.
He was already halfway down
the stairs when she reached the main hallway.
”Spike, stop, it came out all wrong,” Buffy called after him as she raced down
the stairs. “That wasn’t what I meant at all.”
“Don’t lie now,” Spike
shouted as he halted and turned to face her. “God, Buffy…I’m such a fool for
believing that you would ever want me. I’m glad that you at least got some
satisfaction from your sacrifice.”
“It wasn’t a sacrifice,”
Buffy replied, stopping at the bottom of the steps. “I wanted you.”
“Well, that much I figured
out, Slayer,” Spike bit out. “You know what? I didn’t crawl into bed with you
for the sex or to get home. I did it because I’m enough of an idiot to love
you.” He threw his head back and swallowed, then pinned her with a pain filled
stare. “Yeah, I said it. I love you, Buffy Summers. Think I always have and
probably always will. Now go ahead. Laugh at me. Tell me that someone like you
could never love someone like me.” His eyes closed in resignation.
Buffy walked to him, feeling
more power than she ever had as a slayer. She cupped his face and brushed his
lips with her own. “I love you, too, Spike.”
His eyes flew open as he
searched her eyes. “No, you don’t,” he waved a hand. “Don’t play games.”
“Hush,” Buffy whispered,
kissing him again. “I love you. You are the best lover I’ve ever had, my best
friend, my protector, and the man I love and want beside me.”
“Buffy? You’re not lying?”
“Nope,” she promised with a
smile and a small shake of her head. “I will love you until the day I die…which
is not a really wise thing for me to say but…”
“And I will give my life to
make sure you stay alive,” Spike vowed, wrapping his arms around her. “I love
you, too.”
“Kiss me, you fool,” Buffy
teased, pulling him closer. Thankfully, he took it the way she meant it and
covered her mouth with his. The kiss held every emotion that their words had
conveyed. It was absolutely perfect…until Spike shoved her away and she landed
on the ground.
It was the ground in the
cemetery that they had started off in. And the demons were right where they’d
left off. “Damn it,” Buffy muttered, jumping up to help Spike fight them off.
They stood back to back as they fought them off. It didn’t take long because
they were both angry about being interrupted. The last one fell and Buffy
looked up to find Spike staring at her again.
“Seems we’re back, Luv,”
Spike said, looking around. “Well, at least they put us back into our regular
clothes when we came back.”
Buffy nodded. The reality of
their lives crashed through her emotions. She stared at Spike remembering
everything they’d done together in that special place. It wasn’t real here.
None of it was. Tears filled her eyes as she wondered if they’d left everything
back there. There was only way to find out. She held out her hand to him. He
took it with a gentle smile.
“So, you want to come live
with me and Dawn?” Buffy asked, putting her heart on the line.
“Sounds good to me,” Spike
replied, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. He kissed her
quickly. “Think I can get through the rest of this night. Get my stuff from my
crypt tomorrow.”
“Race you back to the
house,” Buffy called as she took off at a run. “I still need a bath.”
“Hey, no fair,” Spike
called, chasing after her.
They hit the front steps at
the same time where Buffy immediately shushed him from arguing about who’d won.
”We don’t want to wake anyone,” she whispered, placing her hand over his mouth.
She saw the insecurity in his eyes. “Don’t want to share you until tomorrow.”
He smiled at her as she
unlocked the door and led him inside the darkened house and up the stairs.
Buffy’s heart was pounding when they reached her bedroom. This was really
happening. Spike was with her. He was going to live with her and everyone else be damned. The only one who would be happy about it would be
Dawn, but they’d come around. They just had to get to know him. She switched
the light on and started to toe her boots off.
“Buffy,
where did you get this from?”
Spike asked, making her turn around. She spotted a snow globe of Sleeping
Beauty’s castle that she’d gotten at
“A long time ago,” Buffy
said, coming to stand beside him. “I used to dream I’d live in it with my
prince.”
“Wonder if it was them doing
a spell or your fantasies that took us there,” Spike remarked, shaking it so
the snow fell over the castle.
“It is kind of like…”
“Our castle of love,” Spike
finished with a sheepish grin. He put
the globe down. “Now, you know why I was a bloody awful poet.”
“Love you anyway,” Buffy
said, kissing him. She pulled him down onto the bed. “I think the bath can
wait.”
“Me too, Luv, me too,” Spike
said, following her down.
Buffy looked over her
shoulder at the castle, winking at the twinkling light from the tower room.
Sometimes magic came from unexpected places and you just had to be thankful for
it. She knew she was.
And they lived happily ever
after…
Well, not really, but for
the most part they did.
~~~The End~~~