A/N – Thanks to Marsters’ Girl for beta’ing this fiction!
Chapter Nine
Once Buffy and Spike had fed, and
found the motivation to get out of bed, they began heading back to Sunnydale.
It was almost 11 O’clock when
they pulled up near Giles'. Buffy
looked up at the house then back at Spike.
"Are you sure you want to do
this?" She asked him, for the
thousandth time. Spike sighed and took
her hand.
"Buffy, I want to be with
you and if you have to be here then I'll be here." he said truthfully, leaning forward and
pressing his lips to hers. She sighed
against his lips and moved her hands around his neck, as he gently massaged her
mouth open, slipping his tongue inside to sweep with hers.
After a few minutes, Spike pulled
back and said, "Come on, love, lets do it."
"Okay, lets do
it!" Buffy responded with a mischievous
gleam in her eyes, anxious to be doing anything but this.
Catching the look, Spike leaned
over and opened the door saying,
"Later, we better go meet your watcher now, he'll be worried, as
will your friends."
It was the last part of the
sentence that won Buffy over.
"You’re right...and I never thought I'd say that to you!"
Spike rolled his eyes, but let it
slide.
Hand in hand, the bottle blond
couple walked up to Giles' door, Buffy looked up at Spike then back at the
wooden door and knocked three times. It
was opened by Giles, but Buffy could see Xander and Willow in the background.
"Hi guys! Miss me?" At their happy faces and Willows happy squeal of her name Buffy
laughed, asking her watcher
"Miss me?" Spike asked sardonically, as they pretty
much ignored him, concentrating solely on the slayer.
"Look dead-boy
Jnr-" Xander began.
"So guys what’s up on the
research front? Find any new good stuff
about me?" she tactfully changed the subject.
Willow smiled at her friend,
"Yeah, I just read something that confirmed that you have slayer and
Vampire strength combined, so you're fundamentally twice as strong! It'll show through you emotionally - like when
you really need it." She explained
happily.
Eyeing Spike warily, who was
still holding Buffy's hand, Willow crossed the room to Buffy. The slayer enveloped the Hacker in a
hug. "I'm so happy you're okay
Buffy." Willow finished wide-eyed, nodding her head in approval.
Buffy pulled back, and smiling at
the hacker, moved into Spike's waiting arms.
After a moment of silence Xander
spoke. "Okay, I gotta ask, is
anyone else wigging about the fact that we're looking at Spike hugging
Buffy?"
At the groups exasperated looks
and Spike's low warning growl, Xander finished "I was only asking, its
like I'm watching reruns of Will's 'I will it so' spell!"
--- --- ---
A few hours later after Buffy and
Spike had finished telling the gang of the passing weeks, and had caught up
themselves on "all the juicy bits of dirt" as Willow had said. Giles sat at his desk, various texts
surrounding him.
Willow and Xander sat on the
couch, a similar amount of "musty, old books" as Buffy had called
them, encircling them. Reminiscent of
Willow's 'I will it so' spell- Spike and Buffy sat together on a chair, Buffy
flicking through one of the watchers diaries, not really reading it, while
Spike nuzzled the mark on her neck, his arms wrapped protectively around her
waist, holding her to him.
No one had commented on the bite
marks visible on both Spike's and Buffy's necks. They had also
noted, without comment, that
Spike hadn't let Buffy out of his sight since their arrival, barely out of his
arms.
Not that she'd exactly
tried.
Giles was researching into Spikes
protective attitude, though not actually telling Buffy about that - he didn't
think that she would mind, but he didn't want to risk offending her. So far he hadn't said anything about Spike
to Buffy for two reasons, firstly he wished her to stay and secondly like Spike
was protective of her, she was protective of him, although so far it didn't
appear to be in the same quantities.
However, Giles hypothesized that
this could be because there were no females interested in Spike at the
present. Earlier when Xander had gone
to hug Buffy, Spike had growled him away from the slayer, not allowing anyone
but him to be close to her. And though Buffy
had shushed Spike, the watcher could see that his ward was delighted by Spike's
reaction.
From what he had read, the fact
that they had both marked the other with their bite meant that they had claimed
one another in the vampiric world. Vampire
claims were very strong and powerful; the power of their relationship only
enhanced by the sire/childe bond, which was another thing Giles was researching
into.
Eventually Buffy broke the
silence, "Willow, do you want to come patrolling with me? I figure I can get a quick sweep before the
sun comes up." She asked the
hacker.
Willow smiled appreciatively at
her friend, "Yeah, thanks Buffy."
Buffy turned to Spike, and
whispered quietly - so the others wouldn't hear. "I just need to talk to her alone, will you stay here and
keep researching?" She asked,
pleading with him.
Spike frowned slightly, before
allowing it to dissolve into a smile of understanding "Sure, love."
"Thank you." She said just before his lips claimed hers. Spike pulled her as close as two people with
clothing could get, and Buffy wound her fingers in his short hair, as their
tongues battled for dominance. Spikes
won and moved into her mouth, licking the inside of her mouth.
Buffy moaned throatily from the
sensation, uncaring that they were no longer alone. Before it got too much and he took her right there, Spike pulled
back resting his forehead against hers.
"Just hurry back, pet."
Giving him one quick kiss Buffy got off his lap, "I will - don't
eat my friends." she said with a smile.
"I won't." Spike
assured her, and watched as his mate and the witch left the apartment. Spike took a deep unneeded breath and looked
over at the whelp and the watcher, it was going to be a long night.
*** *** ***
Buffy took a deep unneeded breath
and looked over at the silent witch next to her, it was going to be a long
night.
"Will-"
"Buff-" They both began, stopping then
laughing.
"You first Will."
"I...I just wanted to make
sure that you know...and have always known that...you being a vampire - it
doesn't matter to me. I'll admit that I
was a little wigged a first, but you're my best friend Buffy. I love you for
who you are, not what you are."
"Thanks, Wills." Buffy said, a tear in her eye.
"But now everything’s
perfect, right...I mean, well, not in the typically perfect sense, because
you'd have to be alive and happy for everything to be perfect. Not that you're not happy. I mean you're happy with Spike. You are happy with Spike aren't
you?" Willow babbled.
Buffy giggled slightly. "Will, its okay. I know what you mean." They continued to walk through the cemetery. "I am happy you know. It's weird...don't say it isn't because,
heck, even I think it is! But I love
him...God, how scary is that?"
Willow smiled, "Very. But then not so."
"What do you
mean?" Buffy frowned.
"Come on, Buffy, all those
late night patrols - even pre-turnage, all the verbal sparing and sexual innuendoes
all adds up to some major UST!"
"That’s not true!"
Willow laughed at the look on the
slayer's face, "Okay...so it’s totally true!" Buffy conceded.
"Sooo.....what’s he
like."
"Willow!"
"Come on, Buffy! Happy lesbian now but....he's gotta be
hiding some major salty goodness beneath that coat, am I right?"
"Wills, you bad
girl." Buffy tisked, then smiled
secretively, "Very yummy salty goodness...though, its kinda more sweet
then salty."
"Buffy!" Willow laughed at the far off look on her friend’s
face. "Maybe it’s from all the
blood..."
"Huh?"
"You know, blood
sugar.." They laughed together.
Both friends continued their
journey in silence for the following minutes, happy that their friendship had
not been lost.
*** *** ***
Spike looked up from the text in
his lap moments before Buffy and Willow returned from patrolling. They'd been gone an hour and Spike was
beyond bored. They entered giggling,
the sound abnormally loud in the previously silent room.
Buffy passed her coat to Willow, who
hung it up along with hers, then crossed the room to Spike who hauled her into
his lap kissing her soundly. Seeing
that his ward would probably not come up for air anytime soon - as she now
needed none - Giles addressed Willow.
"How was patrol?"
"There were a few vamps but
with Super-Buffy it took all of three seconds to kill them all, and then it was
poof no more bad guys, but there was mochas!" Willow finished with a smile.
The watcher returned the smile
before turning to the still kissing couple.
Coughing loudly he attempted to get their attention, eventually when it
was evident that neither noticed, Giles spoke,
"Umm...Buffy?" a beat then, "Buffy if you can just tell
me of the vampires you fought, we can all go home."
As Giles' words penetrated her
pleasure filled brain, Buffy broke away from Spike’s lips, and evading his
attempt to recapture her lips in another kiss, she answered her Watcher.
"Sorry Giles, umm nothing great
about the vamps - they were just regular run-of-the-graveyard
bloodsuckers. I don't know if they were
really weak or something though 'coz they were really, really easy to take
down."
"That’s probably due to your
extra vampire strength, love and the fact that you have been
fighting..." *One way or another*
he added with a mental smirk. "...for the past few weeks without much
rest. You know better resilience and
what not."
Putting Buffy on her feet, he
stood up, and taking her hand said, "If you don't need us anymore watcher
I think we'll go home." anxious to get Buffy back to their comfortable
bedroom, and more welcoming bed.
"Yes, of course." He watched as the couple walked to the door
before adding, "Home?"
"Yeah, we're living at the
Mansion for the time being. I spoke to
my mom earlier, so don't worry - she knows.
See you tomorrow guys."
"Bye Buffy."
"Bye Buffster, peroxide
boy!" Xander said, from his
position on the couch.
Giles nodded his goodbye, and the
couple left for the mansion. They had
left their belongings there after going to Buffy's house to get her
things. Joyce had actually been very
supportive and had told Buffy she was always welcome, Spike too.
Buffy had burst in to tears, and
the two had embraced. Buffy had left
the number for the Mansion with Joyce, before travelling to Giles'.
*** *** ***
The three sat in silence for a
few minutes before Xander finally spoke.
"So, what’s up with dead boy junior? He was way possessive, did you guys see the way he wigged out
when I went to hug Buffy?"
"Yeah..." Willow added,
"Why was he like that, he wasn't like that during my spell."
Giles removed his glasses and
rubbed the lenses before replacing them, speaking as he did so.
"I believe he and Buffy have
claimed each other as mates, you both saw the bite marks - my research
indicates that vampires do this to mark their territory as it were. I believe Buffy would have acted similarly
if there had been a female interested in Spike."
"Oh, you mean kinda like
wolves - pack behaviour?" The
hacker asked, catching Giles' drift of thought.
"Or a hickey?" Xander put in, Giles frowned at the boy then
figured it was as close as he was getting anyway,
"Yes, exactly. Vampires are very possessive and protective
of their mates and very loyal, they will do anything for them or to keep
them. Witness Spike not killing
us. I also believe that their bond is
cemented by their Sire and Childe relationship. Unfortunately my information is limited, normally I would ask
Angel, but given the circumstances...."
Giles trailed off leaving the sentence unfinished but obvious.
The other two nodded their
understanding.