Buffy put down her cell phone with a smile, her sister Dawn, had just asked her and Spike to come and stay with her at Dawn’s new place in Rome which Buffy had readily agreed to. Her husband William ‘Spike’ Giles might not be as pleased with this development, he had board meetings all week and he couldn’t make it home most night, let alone go out of the country, he hated it when she was away from him and she hated being away from him.

She glanced over at her life partner; they had met two years ago and had hated each other from the word go. They had disagreed on every subject that was discussed in their presence and they had taken every opportunity to make the other look like a fool.

Then after most of the office had had enough of all their bickering, Cordelia – Buffy’s best friend and matchmaker extraordinaire – Had decided to lock them in a room so they could haul out all of their issues.

They hadn’t.

First it had been the unbearable silence, every few seconds one of them would glare at the other and then look away, neither saying a word. Then there had been the occasional attempt at the door, both at one point desperately trying to get it open.

The last was the worst and the best; they had finally turned on each other and started clawing each other’s eyes out. When Buffy had finally been pushed past her restraint she had slapped him, hard.

There had been silence for a few moments then he had kissed her, after the kiss, hours and hours of sexcapades had been had and they had finally started to talk. The next morning when Cordelia opened the door they were both dishevelled in appearance and had numerous love bites all over their bodies.

Cordelia had been thrilled and a few weeks later Buffy and Spike had started dating.

Buffy shook her head and walked over to Spike, who looked up at her with a sweet smile. She sat down next to him on the couch and leant against his shoulder, a warm feeling coursing through her when he wrapped his arm around her; they had been married for about a year but she still felt giddy when he gave her small gestures of affection.

“Guess what” she said, looking into his amazingly blue eyes.

“What?” he asked curiously.

“Well, Dawnie just bought a place in Rome and she invited us to stay there for a week, how cool is that?” she smiled brightly.

“Yeah it is, but I’ve got board meetings all week so I wont be able to come” he commented, trying not let his disappointment show.

She hugged him “Well if you can’t go, then I wont” she sighed, She hadn’t seen Dawnie for almost a year and was dying to see what the slim brunette had been up to with her new boyfriend and her new job.

Spike hugged her tighter “You should go pet, you haven’t seen Niblet in over a year yeah? And we can talk each night by phone.”

Buffy broke the hug and kissed him “thankyou so much, I love you” she hugged him again and he smiled.

“Besides you’ll be calling me before you even get out of the airport” he teased and she raised a finely plucked brow.

“Oh really, I seem to remember last time I went away someone calling me ten minutes after I landed, drunk and slurring that he missed my sweet voice and my golden hair” she gave him a wide smile and poked him in the chest.

He gave a laugh “Right and I remember someone else calling me during a business meeting and telling my that they missed me so much that they were going to fly back home whilst bawling their eyes out.”

“I had just watched Titanic!” she yelled in her defence, turning away.

He snorted and she slapped his chest lightly “Fine, I bet that you will give in and call me before I call you” she had challenged him and he wasn’t one to back down.

“You’re on” he folded his arms and gave her a challenging stare.

She smiled and leant forward, giving him a lingering kiss, making sure to nibble on his lower lip. Just as he was about to deepen the kiss she pulled away “I’m gonna go pack” with a sweet smile she was bouncing up the stairs, humming a boppy tune.

Spike groaned ‘This girl was going to be the death of him.’

---

Buffy stared at her upcoming flight time, just ten minutes until she had to board the plane and leave the love of her life a whole country away and because of this stupid, crazy bet she now couldn’t call him until he buckled and called her.

She turned to see him walking towards her with two small coffees. She smiled when he handed her the cup and threw her arms around him, cup still firmly in her left hand.

He put his arms around her tightly and she sighed “Sorry, I’m just a little bit...you know” he nodded and kissed her hair, she breathed in his scent, leather, Bourbon, his aftershave and something that was just Spike.

“All passengers on the eleven thirty flight to Rome please make your way to gate fourteen” a woman’s voice made Buffy cringe and hug Spike tighter.

“Okay, I better go” she mumbled and kissed him passionately, when they broke apart she held her tears at bay and whispered “I’m going to miss you so much, see you when I get back.”

“I’m gonna miss you to luv, see you on Monday” he caressed her cheek tenderly before she turned away and made her way up to the woman checking tickets. When she got cleared to go on to the plane she turned and blew a kiss at Spike before making her way down the corridor.

Spike sighed; this week was going to be hell, for both of them.

---

Buffy took her seat on the plane and stared out the window, this week was going to be hell. She picked up a magazine and a guy sat next to her, looking her up and down before giving her a grin.

Correction this week and this plane trip were going to be hell.

Spike drummed his fingers on his desk, staring at the phone attentively. If he could focus all of his energy into staring at that phone then maybe, just maybe she would call. How was he supposed to know if she landed safely, what if the plane had crashed? What if he was just being an idiot? He pondered as he mentally slapped himself “Pull yourself together” he muttered.

“You know, they say a watched pot never boils” Cordelia Chase, his secretary and good friend said as she placed some files on his desk “Why don’t you just call her?”

“Cordy you know about the little wager” he said as he flipped through the files.

Cordelia stared at him for a few seconds “you didn’t get a wink of sleep last night did you” it was more of a statement than a question. When he didn’t answer she continued “Spike you look like a wreck, you have dark circles under your eyes and your skin has already taken on a very weird tone” she said, sitting down on the corner of his desk.

“Gee thanks Cordy” Spike said as he glared at her. The brunette gave a pretty smile and raised her hands in the air.

“Alright I’m sorry, but you do know that you’ll be the one who buckles first right?” Cordy gave him a cheeky grin “Come on Spike, Buffy had you whipped after your first date, you’ll be on that phone way before she is” she smiled and laughed when he threw a pack of post-it notes at her. Cordelia left his office and despite all the work he had to do, his eyes kept sliding back over to the phone.

~~

Buffy watched as Dawn said goodbye to Michael, her green eyes went to her mobile, nothing not even a measly text. She sighed and Dawn came and sat next to her “Buffy be strong, it’s time to show him that you’re still the independent girl he met at the office” Dawn smiled and went and grabbed her jacket “Sorry about this, I swear that people just can’t stay away from that house” Dawn had become one of the best real estate agents in her area and was almost always busy.

Dawn kissed her sister on the cheek “be back soon” and with that she was gone, leaving Buffy and two fully functioning phones alone in the apartment.

Buffy bit her lip; this was not going to be easy.

~~

Spike sat in one of the longest meetings that he had ever been a part of. He watched Lilah Morgan drone on and on about Wolfram and Hart, silently willing the bint to bust into flames. Charles Gunn, his sharp legal mind and friend discretely nudged him with his elbow, sending across the message that he should pay attention to the woman. Spike focused on the last ten minutes of the meeting, almost jumping for joy when Lilah checked her watch and announced that they’d have to leave it there for today.

When she and her associates left Spike stood and stretched “What were you thinking about in there?” Gunn asked as he placed important documents in his briefcase.

“Buffy” he muttered and massaged his temple; he’d been blessed with the Godforsaken pain in his head since he’d arrived at work this morning.

“Buffy? Oh your little bet with her” Gunn smiled, he couldn’t believe his friend had done something so ridiculous. “You do realise that this stupid little bet could all be over within the hour if you just gave our favourite blonde a call” Gunn held up his phone, on the screen Buffy’s mobile number was ready to be clicked on.

“No” he said as he backed out of the office, hitting the doorframe on his way out. Gunn laughed as his friend practically ran out of the room, away from the blonde’s number, he clicked the button and the phone began to ring.

~~

Buffy ran out of the bathroom, towel barely covering her as she searched for her phone.

“Spike?” she waited.

“Nope, but the next best thing” Gunn said cheerfully.

“Gunn, hey” Buffy was disappointed but it was still good to talk with her friend.

“Hey Barbie, how are you?”

“I’m alright, it’s really good seeing Dawn again, I’ve missed her so much. What about you?” Buffy sat down on the bar stool.

“I’ve been good, Fred’s still in hospital, she refuses to leave until they’re sure that Emily is alright” Buffy could hear the smile in his voice, Gunn and Fred had been married for two years and had just had a little girl.

“I’m sure Emily is going to be fine” she said confidently.

“Thanks Barbie, look I just called because I just finished tormenting Spike.”

“Charles what have you been doing with my husband?” Buffy said with a smile.

“Don’t worry, he’s still in one piece but you can tell he misses you” Gunn leant against the table.

“Yeah I miss him too” he heard the change in her voice and could tell she was close to crying.

“Buffy, I have to go because I have to be in another meeting in ten minutes, but it was good to speak with you.”

“Okay. Bye Charles.”

Buffy hung up the phone and looked around the apartment; she clicked her tongue twice before she decided to do something productive, bake.

~~

“Buffy, I’m home” Dawn yelled as she hung up her jacket, she walked over to her kitchen and saw her sister stirring some cake mix.

“Dawnie, Hi” Buffy greeted her before going back to mixing. Dawn looked around the kitchen, noticing that there were four other bowls on the counter.

“You’re baking” Dawn said in surprise.

“Yeah, decided I couldn’t be gloomy anymore” the blonde said brightly.

“So you decided to fill my kitchen with baked goods” Dawn stated, looking at the various cupcakes.

“Basically” Buffy poured the mix into a cake tin and put it in the oven.

“I don’t even own an apron” Dawn said looking at the blue and white fabric around her sister’s waist.

“Nope, you don’t so I went out and bought one, I definitely need to get a map of the streets, I got so lost” Buffy laughed and took off the apron.

“Buffy, I left you alone for an hour and a half and you turned into Martha Stewart” Dawn grabbed her sisters wrist to stop her from grabbing a cake.

Buffy turned to her younger sister and suddenly lunged for the phone.

“No! No Buffy!” Dawn tackled her sister to the ground and grabbed the phone out of Buffy’s grip.

Buffy went to speak but Dawn clamped her hand over the blonde’s mouth “no way, listen to me...OW! You bitch you bit me!” Dawn pulled her hand back and looked at the teeth marks.

Buffy glared at her sister then reached for the phone, of course this was harder to do when you were being held down by another fully grown woman.

~~

Spike tapped his pencil against the desk, willing himself not to grab the phone and call Buffy. He tapped the pencil faster and faster, jumping when Liam O’Conner entered his office. He rolled his eyes “What do you want?” he asked in annoyance.

Liam and Spike went way back to when the business first started out and since then they had disagreed and fought about every single thing you could possibly fight about, topics ranging from types of presidents to fights between Astronauts and Cavemen.

“You have a file that I need” he said, leaning casually against the doorframe. Spike looked around and grabbed the file to his right, holding it out to the slightly taller man.

“What no lame insult to go with it?” Liam gave him a slightly surprised look.

“Not today you poofter” Spike went back to tapping his pencil, ignoring Liam’s presence.

Liam was about to leave but quickly turned and gave Spike a smug grin “I hear your wife’s in Rome, just so happens that I have to fly there tomorrow, it should be fun, maybe I’ll take her out for a few hours, after all that’s what good friends do” Liam smiled that smarmy smile before he left.

Spike clenched his jaw; Buffy had become good friends with Liam ever since her first day. They had had a romantic past and that just pissed Spike off even more. Now that Buffy was his, Angel had been stirring Spike up as much as he could but he still managed to play the concerned friend for Buffy.

Spike looked down and noticed that the pencil had snapped in half under his constant tapping. Bugger this it was time to get hammered.

~~

Buffy grabbed her phone as it started to ring “Hello.....Liam hi, how are you....yep I’m in Rome visiting my sister.....really that’s great...sure we can meet up.....Don’t trouble yourself I’ll meet you at the airport, alright bye” Buffy smiled.

“Who was that?” Dawn asked as she ate some of the icing off of her cupcake.

“Liam, he’s coming into Rome tomorrow for a conference or something, he just wanted to meet for lunch” Buffy gave a smile and sat down on the couch.

Dawn looked at her sister nervously, things were about to go haywire, especially if Spike was dragged into it.

Buffy glanced at her watch; Liam should be off of his flight in about a minute or two. She sighed and thought about the bleach blonde that was all those miles away from her, God she missed him. It wasn’t just a simple case of ‘I miss him but I can deal without him’ it was a full blown case of ‘if I don’t hear from him today I will literally die’.

She looked up as the gate opened and she smiled brightly when she saw Liam. She embraced him “God its good to see you” she said brightly before letting him go.

He gave her a smile and put an arm around her shoulders “I’ve missed you too Summers.”

The pair quickly grabbed Liam’s suitcases and walked out of the airport.

~~

Dawn paced nervously; she didn’t know whether to call Spike and tell him about her sister meeting Liam or just leave well enough alone and wait until Buffy came back. She threw up her hands in frustration, glancing at Michael as he watched her, concern and confusion in his eyes.

Dawn’s blue eyes turned to Buffy’s cell when it started to chirp madly. “Great Buffy, how does someone forget their phone? Oh wait it’s my sister” Dawn said rolling her eyes.

“Hello?” she answered in slight annoyance.

“Niblet...” Dawn’s face fell, ‘Oh great, Spike calls and my sister isn’t even here’.

“Spike, hey....Sorry Buffy isn’t home she just forgot her cell” Dawn said, sitting down on her sofa.

“I miss her so much” Dawn could swear she heard him crying.

“Are you drunk?” she asked curiously.

“No...What the bloody hell you talking bout....you know I think you’re drunk” she heard him slur the words and a small smile came to her lips.

“Spike, I’ll tell Buffy that you called but it doesn’t count because you two didn’t actually exchange words” She heard him murmur something incoherent so she just shook her head “Sleep it off William” she said softly before ending the call.

Personally she really did hope that Buffy gave in and called him first, despite all of her attempts to stop that from happening. Screw this, she was going to meddle.

Michael gave her a warning look “Babe, are you sure you want to get involved in this whole thing?”

Dawn smiled at him “Absolutely.”

~~

Buffy and Liam walked the streets, watching as young children played with others, parents running to keep their eyes on the little ones.

“So when are you meeting with your client?” Buffy asked as she started to walk over to an ice cream parlour.

“Vanilla please” he said before focusing back on Buffy “in an hour.”

“Peppermint” Buffy told the man politely “An hour huh, how long will you be here?”

“Flying back this afternoon, it’s a shame I was really looking forward to spending time with you” Liam pouted before taking a bite of his ice cream.

Buffy gave hers a lick “yeah I know what you mean, I’m already homesick and its been two days...well two and a half days...God I’m so pathetic” she said with a smile.

He gave her a small shove, throwing in a charm smile “nah you’re not pathetic.”

The two talked for a little while. Liam knew that he would never get anywhere with the feisty blonde but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t stir Spike up at every opportunity that presented itself. Truth be told he wasn’t even that interested in Buffy, sure she was hot, independent and cheeky but he had a feeling that they would so more harm than good in a relationship.
He bid her a good week, with a quick kiss on the cheek and a long hug.

Buffy walked up to Dawn’s apartment, opening the door she saw possibly the most adorable thing in the world. Dawn and Michael were curled up on the couch watching a chick movie.

“Aw, you guys are cuter than a kitten and a puppy trying to climb into the same slipper” she smiled and checked her phone, frowning when she didn’t see any messages.

“Spike called” Dawn said as she sat up “it doesn’t count because you two didn’t actually communicate and I think he was drunk” she yawned and walked to her fridge.

“So my husband calls and I miss it because I’m out with Liam!” Buffy huffed and dropped down into a chair “and I still can’t call the bastard!” she ran her fingers through her hair in annoyance.

Dawn just watched her sister, oh yeah if she and Michael turned on the couple-y stuff within the next day her sister would be on the phone to America in the blink of an eye.

~~

Spike walked past Cordelia’s desk, ignoring the smug smile that she was wearing “Give in and call her yet?” she said as if she was asking for something as simple as a lift to work.

He sighed “Oh Bloody Hell.....fine I called her, but she wasn’t there so it doesn’t count” he walked into his office, Cordelia following him.

“Oh by the way you have a meeting with a Miss Darla Hillman, have fun and try not to get groped by her” the brunette bumped shoulders with Darla as she left the office.

“William, how are you?” Darla asked politely as she sat down in her chair.

Spike looked over at her “I’m alright; look I’ve got to meet a friend in an hour so would you mind meeting for lunch today?”

“Lunch isn’t a problem” Darla said, eyes gleaming.
Cordelia watched Darla head out of the office and Spike appeared at her side.

“Cordelia I’m heading out, I have a lunch meeting with Darla, see-you in a bit” he grabbed his coat and walked out the doors.

A few hours later the phone rang “You’re speaking to Cordelia Chase, how may I help you?” she said brightly.

“Cordy it’s Buffy.”

“Hey Buffy how are you?”

“I’m good, I’m not calling to talk to Spike...I just wanted to know if he got in alright this morning.”

“Yeah he got in this morning although you couldn’t talk to him on this line if you wanted to” Cordelia started to file her nails.

“Why’s that?” her curiosity came through clearly in her tone.

“He has a lunch date with Darla Hillman” Cordelia said casually.

“Oh...my husband’s with another woman?”

Cordelia bit her lip, God how she wanted to meddle, no! No she shouldn’t...Oh what the hell maybe it would end this stupid bet.

“Yeah he seemed really excited about getting out of the office” she kept her tone even.

“Go ahead and tell Spike I called but remember to add the fact that I most definitely won’t be calling back. It’s his fault if he had of been here he would have got my call but you know he wasn’t so I’ll talk to you when I get back Cordy...bye” Buffy hung up and Cordelia wondered if what she’d just done had actually helped.

~~

Buffy put the phone down and glared at it “Swell my husband is miles away, having a lunch date with a notorious whore and probably not remembering I exist” she glared at her phone.

Dawn offered a weak smile ‘God Spike and Buffy were idiots’.

As Buffy entered the living room Dawn quickly grabbed Michael and gave him a passionate kiss. Her sister raised a brow as Michael tugged Dawn closer. Buffy coughed violently and watched as they sprang apart, obviously not remembering that they were in the presence of someone else.

Michael made a strained sound and said goodbye as he went to work.

“So sis, what’s with the pashing before nine O’clock” Buffy asked dryly as she flipped on the television.

Right there Dawn saw her opening “Yeah I just...well sometimes I can’t help myself, Michael is so gorgeous and he’s all mine and he lives with me, spends everyday with me, loves me, cares for me. You know I can’t imagine what being away from him would feel like, I practically count the seconds he’s gone” Dawn gushed and put a dreamy look on her face.

“You sicken me Dawnie” she commented playfully “but you two are very sweet.”

Dawn started talking about the television show that was currently running and Buffy let her mind drift. God she wanted to call Spike, it had been three days. THREE DAYS! And she couldn’t even look at something as simple as a table lamp without being reminded of him. Dawn was staring at her expectantly.

“Huh?” Buffy cringed waiting for Dawn’s tirade of ‘why do you never listen to me’s?’ and ‘I’m wise to ya knows’ but they never came. She gave her sister an odd look because a calculating smile had formed on Dawn’s lips. “Why are you staring at me?”

“There was a bug, anyway I gotta go, the houses wont sell themselves, bye” Dawn kissed Buffy on the cheek and skipped out the door, leaving Buffy to make her own breakfast.

~~

Spike stormed into the office, God he bloody hated that Hillman chit, every five minutes during their lunch meeting she would run her foot up his leg, causing him to stop talking and glare at her, reminding her of her place. He walked into his office, past Cordelia who threw her files down and began talking to him, not that he payed attention.

“Don’t you” she began to say and he shut the door in her face “dare.”

Cordelia knocked on his door twice before yelling “Buffy called” she walked back to her desk as he came bursting out of his office “Okay well I’m on Lunch” she said sweetly and began to leave, a small squeal escaping her as she was lifted off of the ground and brought back to her desk.

“Spike put me down!” she wiggled and he set her down.

“When did she call?” he asked, giving the phone a longing glance.

“Geez, today while you were lunching with Darla but, you two didn’t actually talk so if you were to call her now you’d be losing the bet” she smiled “Now I’m off to lunch” she walked away, leaving a very confused Spike.

~~

Buffy stared at the phone, I will not call Spike. I will not call Spike. I will not call Spike. I will so call Spike. Buffy grabbed the phone but quickly threw it back down like it had burnt her.

She repeated the mantra in her head before flopping back down onto her bed, if she didn’t do something she was going to go crazy.

Someone knocked on the door and she sprang up from her bed, in her eagerness not noticing that her phone had flown off of the bed, the impact of the fall making the phone split apart and lose its sim card.

Buffy opened the door to see a slightly taller man with red hair “Oz....OH my God!” Buffy leaped into the man’s arms, Daniel Ozbourne had been Buffy’s friend since high school but recently they had lost touch.

“Still light as a feather then Buffy?” Oz commented as he set her down, giving a slight smile when she gave him a tiny slap.

“Come in, come in” she ushered him into the apartment.

“Nice place” he shrugged off his jacket.

“Well I can’t take the credit; I’m staying with my sister, which actually brings me to my next question, how did you know I was in Rome and better still how do you know where my sister lives?” she gave him an expectant look.

“Me and Dawn saw each other on the streets today, we said hello and she told me you were staying here, gave me the address and here I am” he smiled and Buffy mock gasped.

“Why Oz did you just make an expression.”

“Never,” she joined him on the couch and the pair talked about the little things and big things that were happening in their lives.

“I cannot believe you have a rock band...well I can believe it but I still can’t help but think of you as the guy in High school that didn’t care about where he went or who he went there with” she gave him a soft smile “what happened there?”

“Well on your way to your dreams, sometimes you get lost and find a better one” he said softly.

“Ah Oz ever the wise man” she said with a grin.

Oz looked down at his watch “Crap, I gotta go, band meeting in twenty minutes, he we’re touring so you should come see us play tomorrow night, here” he scrawled down an address and handed it to her before giving her a hug and leaving.

Buffy looked down at the paper and nodded whispering a soft ‘I’ll be there’.

~~

Gunn and Cordy sat outside of Spike’s office, looking at him through the window “God, look at him in there, he’s been staring at that phone for an hour, we have to get him out of the office” Cordelia said, ignoring the blinking light that was coming from the phone.

“Yeah I know, we had an important meeting the other day, he zoned and I’m pretty sure the lack of attention to that high class bitch set us on her bad side” Gunn commented.

“Which high class floozy are we talking about here?” Cordy asked as she took picked up a pen.

“Lilah Morgan” Gunn watched as she wrote down the name.

“I’ll see what I can do; maybe she’s a sucker for a fancy lunch and an Armani dress” they laughed but stopped when the phone inside the office rang, Cordelia giggled when Spike almost dropped it before answering.

“Buffy?” his heart stopped in his chest.

“No but I’m the closest thing” he heard Dawn’s voice on the end of the line.

“Niblet hi”

“Yeah I know you’re not all that happy to talk to me when you’re waiting for my sister to call but I just wanted to know how you were.”

“I’m alright, how about you Nib?” he sat back in his chair and gave a strange look to Cordy and Gunn who were peering in at him.

“I’m good, me and Buffy are going out to this new club where Oz’s band is performing” Dawn said casually.

“Oz? Who’s Oz?” he asked, curiosity taking over his natural instinct to act casual.

“Oh Buffy’s friend, he kicks ass at the bass guitar, it’s gonna be so awesome, oh not to mention Oz is a total hottie” she giggled “Oh shit I gotta go, talk to you some other time, love you bye” she hung up and he counted to ten. It seemed everybody but himself was in Rome and seeing his girl.

He prowled out of the office and past his two friends in the hall.

“Spike, where are you going?” Cordy ran after him, her heels clicking against the marble floor.

“Rome” was his brief reply as the elevator closed, keeping Gunn and Cordelia on that level.

“Did he just say Rome?” she asked.

“Yeah” Gunn replied.

She gave a nod “Just making sure” they both sighed and went back to work.

“We can’t let him go!” Cordelia pushed the button for the elevator and dragged Gunn inside with her; he rolled his eyes and pressed the button for level one.

“What do you suggest we do then?” he asked, annoyance tinging his voice.

“We have to stop him at all costs” Cordy pulled Gunn out of the elevator and they both left the building, Cordy hailed for a taxi and they both frowned when a shifty looking man pulled up.

Cordy briefly wondered if she could get fired for leaving work in the middle of the day but it didn’t really matter because Spike was probably half way to the airport and without a boss they were pretty much sitting around and watching paint dry.

“Okay here’s the plan, when we get to the airport. You” she pointed to Gunn with a perfectly manicured nail “cut him off before he has time to buy a ticket and I will go and buy coffee” she sat back with a proud smile, obviously pleased with herself.

“Yeah sure, I’ll be able to stop him...look Spike’s white but still incredibly strong for his size” Gunn paid the taxi driver and helped Cordy out of the cab.

“You are such a baby, God afraid of Spike...Spike’s as white as they come, for goodness sake his hair is bleached blonde!” they entered the airport and spotted Spike yelling at a baggage claim woman.

“Okay, you go over to him and I’m gonna go hit the cafe” Cordelia quickly rushed over to the nearest cafe and Gunn made his way over to Spike and a rather strict looking woman.

“Spike man hey” Gunn greeted.

“Charles?” Spike stopped his rant to look at his friend in confusion before turning back to the lady “You think I need luggage to get on a flight, here” he removed his suit jacket and his tie and threw them at her “there’s your bloody luggage.”

“Spike, come with me” Gunn grabbed onto the other man’s arm and Spike gave the offending hand a glare.
“Mate, let me go” he turned and gave him an expectant look.

“Oh Watch out iced coffee coming through” Cordelia walked up to them and feigned stumbling forward, she tipped her iced coffee all over Spike’s shirt and pants and gave a fake gasp “oopps.”

“Bloody hell” Spike practically growled as he held his hands away from his now soaked front, Gunn looked at Cordelia in brief shock before regarding Spike with a small chuckle.

~~

Buffy walked into the club, music flowing over her, begging to be danced to. She gave a quick point in Oz’s direction before splitting from Dawn and Michael; she eased through the gyrating bodies on the dance floor to Oz and his band.

“Buffy hi” Oz turned and gave her a quick smile “this is Devin, he’s our lead singer” he pointed to a rather large, toned man who obviously thought he was all that and more.

“Buffy” he smiled and gave her hand a kiss, she smiled back but felt like yanking her hand away.

“This is Veruca; she also sings and plays the guitar on the side” Buffy smiled at the petite woman in front of her. She had short blonde hair that was lighter than Buffy’s and she was dressed in simple black pants with a blue top that showed her stomach.

“Hey” Buffy gave a smile and Veruca returned it.

“And this is our drummer Ben” Oz ushered a slightly shy man forward, Buffy had to admit that he wasn’t bad looking, he had brown hair and a nice smile, she ducked down a bit to see warm brown eyes looking out at her.

“Hey Ben” Buffy smiled and Ben gave her one in return.

“Hey Buffy, Michael got a table so whenever you’re ready, find us...Hey Oz” Dawn smiled at the shorter man and returned back to her table.

“I’m going to let you guys finish up here and I’ll see you on stage, you better be good Oz” she smiled before walking off to find her sister.

An hour later Oz and his band had performed and Buffy was now down to her fifth drink.

“Buffy you might wanna slow down” Veruca advised from where she sat next to the now slouched blonde.

“I misch him ya know” Buffy slurred as she drank down the rest of her drink.

“Miss who?” Veruca asked as she took the drink out of Buffy’s hand.

“Schpike” Buffy rested her head on her arms.

“In case you were wondering that word was Spike, he’s her husband” Oz said from across the table.

“Yep! My Hubby, across the world...I schink” She frowned and grabbed Dawn’s abandoned drink but before she could take a sip Veruca grabbed it and put it on the far end of the table.

“Geography wasn’t her strong suit” Oz commented before taking another sip of his beer.

Dawn sat back down and looked at her sister “Oz! I leave you for three songs and my sister is sloshed” she tapped her sister on the head and went around to her side.

“OhmiGod!” Buffy sat up and clasped her hand over her mouth.

“Oh my God” Dawn took a step back from her now green sister and watched her half run half stumble through the crowd to the bathroom. “Oz, when my sister is done puking I’m going to take her home, can you tell Michael to get the car?” he nodded and Dawn went off to check on Buffy.

~~

Spike sat in the cafe of the airport, now with a clean shirt and pants “Cordy I’m going, I have a full bag of clothes and other things and I’m going to go and see my girl” he stood up as his flight was announced “I’ll see you both in a couple of days” he walked off to his gate, leaving Cordelia and Gunn to look at him in frustration.

~~

Dawn shut Buffy’s bedroom door quietly and walked over to the counter, her sister was going to be hung to the over tomorrow morning. The phone began to chirp and Dawn picked it up, briefly wondering who’d be calling at midnight.

“Hello?”

“Dawn, it’s me Cordelia.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, she never really got along with Cordelia “hey Cordy, what’s up” but she had to at least pretend.

“Spike’s on his way to Rome” was the brunette’s short answer.

“Awww” Dawn grinned, this was so romantic.

“Yeah, it’s romantic blah blah blah” Dawn could practically hear Cordelia’s eyes rolling “I just called to tell you or warn you, alright say hi to Buffy for me, bye” Cordy hung up and Dawn went to the couch.

“Who was that?” Michael asked as she snuggled into his side.

“Don’t worry about it, lets just say Buffy’s in for a really good surprise” Dawn said with a twinkle in her eye, God she loved to meddle.

Dawn returned from work after lunch to find Buffy curled up on the couch sleeping. She removed her blazer and hung it up on the hook before turning the television down and going to change.

There was a pleasant silence around the apartment only interrupted by the low drone of the TV and the occasional snore from Buffy’s direction.

Dawn grabbed one of the cupcakes that Buffy had made and a drink; she sat down on the plush sofa across from Buffy and opened the first page of her magazine right as a knock sounded from the door. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and opened it.

“Spike!” she said in surprise, she’d known that he’d been coming but hadn’t expected him to be here so soon.

“Hey Nib” he greeted her with a grin before picking her up and twirling her around.

“Oh and Buffy’s in there but she’s sleeping” Dawn said as she let him in.

Spike walked over to his wife, grin plastered on his face. He crouched down next to her and lovingly stroked her hair.

Dawn observed his behaviour, he was always so macho and sarcastic but when he was with Buffy and most of the times he was with Dawn herself, she could see that he used to be different. She often wondered if he would have been different had his mother not died.

Buffy was in the blissful place between sleep and being awake, she tried to recall her dream but stopped when she picked up a scent, Leather....Bourbon...Cigarettes...Spike! She opened her eyes to stare into brilliantly blue ones; her sleepy smile became a grin as she threw her arms around his neck.

Buffy felt like screaming in happiness, weeping in relief and doing a happy dance all at the same time, she clung to Spike for all she was worth as his strong arms encircled her.

“Baby” he muttered into her hair as he held her tighter.
Dawn watched with a sweet smile on her face, Buffy and Spike were both idiots but they were so in love it was almost sickening. Michael came in the door and Dawn plastered a hand across his mouth to preserve the silence.

Buffy pulled back and gave him a smile which he returned before leaning in and claiming her lips as his. She sighed into his mouth as his lips moved gently against hers, God she’d missed this.

The kiss turned heated and she slipped her tongue past his lips, feeling feminine pride wash over her when he groaned. Dawn had a feeling that they were going to be in for a live sex show if she didn’t interrupt so she coughed as loud as she could, smiling when they broke apart to glare at her.

“So you guys wanna go get lunch?” she asked, knowing that going to lunch was the last thing on their minds.

“Sure Dawnie, I’m just going to go get changed” Buffy slipped out of Spike’s embrace and walked to her room.

“I’ll help you with that” Spike said as he went to follow her.

“No way, if you go in there we wont go out at all” Dawn pushed him back down onto the couch and followed her sister, leaving Spike and Michael alone.

Michael shifted uncomfortably as Spike stared at him, sure he could hold his own but frankly this Spike guy scared him, it didn’t help that Michael was younger.

“So you’re dating Dawn” it was more of a statement than a question.

Spike looked the man up and down, Michael seemed decent but he still thought of Dawn as an innocent teenager that crushed on him when she thought he didn’t notice.

“Do you treat her well?” Spike asked as he moved closer.

“The best I can” he said as he moved back, wincing when he hit a wall.

Spike moved closer and into the guy’s personal space “If you ever and I mean ever hurt her, I will hunt you down like you’re a worthless animal and I will kill you” his eyes were cold and Michael knew that he meant it.

“I’ll never give you a reason to” he said confidently, wavering when all Spike did was glare at him.

“Okay who’s ready to eat” Buffy came out of her room and Spike walked over to her, pulling her to his body.

Dawn walked over to Michael “Are you alright?” she asked, concern evident in her eyes.

“I’m fine, love you” he said as they left the apartment, Buffy and Spike following.

~~

Buffy and Spike sat in a corner of a bar, Michael and Dawn had gone off to dance and Spike was trying to coerce Buffy into ditching her sister.

“Spike, we can hold off for another hour” she said, not really knowing if she was telling the truth.

He pouted and she stared at his lips “Come on luv, you know you want to” he gave her a pleading look, he’d been away from her for too long and he was on the verge of desperation, not even those lonely nights at home, with his left hand and fantasies of her perfect body had helped ease his libido.

Buffy bit her lip thoughtfully, ‘okay Buffy, there’s nothing you want to do more than go with him and stay there until he shags your brain out, but Dawn’s here, Dawn focus on Dawn...oh God what’s he going to do with that hand’. Whilst Buffy had been thinking Spike had started to caress her skirt covered thigh.

“Spike” she whispered, trying to resist her desire for him.

“Buffy” he said in a low voice that made her shudder.

Buffy could barely hear the music over the blood rushing in her ears as she felt her core start to ache for him.

She gave a small gasp as his cold hands touched her inner thigh, slowly going to the place that she was silently begging him to go to.

“Well kitten if you wont ditch your sister, you’re just going to have to be as quiet as you can” he said as his hand barely grazed her thong covered mound.

She took in a sharp breath; surely he wouldn’t do this in front of her sister, would he? When he gently tugged her underwear aside, Buffy made her mind up, oh yes he definitely would.

She shivered as he gently traced her wet centre, thoughts of her little sister coming over and catching them, fogging her brain.

Spike chuckled as she involuntarily gave a small buck of her hips.

His finger circled her clit, not coming into contact with the small nub, making Buffy sigh in frustration. He smirked and slid one finger inside her tight, wet entrance, groaning when he felt her vaginal muscles clench around him.

She gasped as a second finger entered her, hips giving another thrust as Spike began a slow rhythm.

She gave a glance out to the dance floor to see Dawn and Michael still dancing before she shut her eyes and began to fuck Spike’s hand.

He slid a third finger into her tight hole and his thumb began to massage her clit. Buffy panted when the rhythm sped up and felt arousal shoot through her body.

Spike felt his jeans become incredibly tight as Buffy began to grind herself against his hand “that’s right baby, come for me Buffy” he ordered, voice full of desire.

His thumb sped up and Buffy crushed his lips to hers to muffle her scream as her orgasm washed over her.

He smirked and pulled his hand out of her opening, sucking his fingers and hardening further when he tasted her.

Buffy’s breathing was slowly returning to normal and she slumped against him, giving him a mock glare when he smirked at her.

“I love you” he said seriously.

“I love you too” she smiled and gave him a lingering kiss.

“God you two get a room” Dawn said causing Buffy to blush furiously and Spike to start chuckling.

Buffy walked out of the spare room into the kitchen, stopping when she saw Dawn glaring at her “What?” she asked as she leant against the bench. Dawn gave her a ‘don’t pull that crap with me’ look and took a long sip of her coffee.

“You either start gagging each other or buy me some earplugs” Dawn said as she rubbed at her tired eyes “do you have any idea how hard it is to sleep with the constant giggles and noises that are coming from the other side of a wafer fin wall?”

A pink blush crept its way up Buffy’s neck and she busied herself with her tea.

Dawn checked the time and quickly gulped down the rest of her drink before grabbing her blazer and her purse “Alright I have to go, Michael’s already gone and I’ll be back in about five hours.”

“Five hours?”

“Yeah I have to work some display homes today, see you sis” Dawn bounced out the door, her earlier mood disappearing.

Buffy crept back into her room and looked at the beautiful man in front of her; he was lying flat on his back, one hand behind his head and the other resting lightly on his chest. She climbed onto the bed and gently kissed his lips.

His eyes fluttered open and he gave her a smirk “Hell of a way to be woken up goldilocks.” She smiled and went to kiss him again, pulling back when her phone began to chirp madly.

“Hello...Oh hey Oz.......yeah I’m all good.....yes it was awesome, really you guys were amazing.....yeah well I’m heading back home like tomorrow....yeah I know.....well you have my number so give me a call later this week or something.....alright, bye Oz” she hung up and turned to Spike, who was absently drawing patterns on her thigh.

“Who was that?” he asked, trying to appear indifferent.

Buffy smiled “That was just Oz, a friend of mine from high school” it was so sweet that even after they were married he could still get so jealous of any guy that crossed her path. Of course it had been worse when they were dating, once a guy had just given her a smile and began to walk over to her when Spike had intervened and punched the poor man in the face, making sure to swear at him whilst he was on the ground.

Buffy had been slightly shocked by this and had gone to help the guy but Spike had dragged her out of the club and pretty much fucked her senseless in the alleyway.

“Good friend of yours?” he started to draw different patterns.

“Well we used to be good friends in high school but then we lost touch, we met up a couple of days ago and I went to see him and his band perform at a local club” she gave Spike a smile and he pulled her in for a kiss. She squealed in surprise when he grabbed her and rolled so that he was on top.

“You know I think we have the place to ourselves for a few hours” she said suggestively as she walked two fingers up his bicep, he kissed her neck and nipped her pulse point.

Spike pulled back to give her a smile “Could be interesting.”

~~

Dawn walked back into her apartment, weariness coming of her in waves. She put on the kettle and started to make herself some coffee, pausing when she heard more giggling and low tones coming from the bedroom. She rolled her eyes and poured herself a cup of coffee before yelling “TAKE A BREAK!”

A few minutes later Buffy and Spike came from the room dressed in casual clothes, hands clasped together.

“Dawnie you look awful” Buffy said in concern.

“Gee thanks Buffy” she said dryly, Dawn looked over at them “Seriously have you guys even come up for air since I left? No don’t answer that.”

A few minutes later the television had been switched on and there was the low noise of magazine pages being flipped “I think you two couldn’t last without sex, you would be like people in a dessert needing to find water.”

Buffy smiled “Dawnie we’re not that bad.”

“Yeah Niblet we’d be fine” Spike said distractedly as he watched the sports updates.

Dawn shook her head “Nope you two wouldn’t last.”

Buffy closed her magazine “Please Dawn I am a sex camel, if anyone would be having trouble it would be Spike the guy is horny enough as it is.”

This pulled Spike’s attention away from the television “Oh please goldilocks you’d be dead within the first day.”

“Riiight you wouldn’t be able to go a week” she gave him a challenging stare.

Dawn closed her eyes, Buffy probably without knowing it had just begun another bet.

Spike gave her a chuckle “Please you’ll be on your knees by the end of the first hour.”

“Do you wanna bet” she said, her eyes daring him to say yes.

“You’re on princess, how long?” he asked, neither of them noticing Dawn banging her head back against the chair.

“One week, one week without sex, no cheating either so no self pleasure” she gave him a challenging stare “think you can handle it?”

“Oh yeah baby, can you?”

“You’re on, alright starts Monday, no sex at all for one week until the other buckles” she said, confidence in her tone.

“Deal,”

“Deal,”

They both sat there for a few seconds “Wanna make the most of what we have left?” Buffy asked, already standing. Spike nodded and followed her into the bedroom.

Dawn sighed and cranked up the volume on her television “idiots.”

~~

“Alright bye Buffy, I’ll try make my way to you on Christmas” she hugged her sister tightly.

“Okay Dawnie stay safe and Michael you treat her right!” she said with a smile, trying to hold back tears.

Spike shook Michael’s hand “You’re a decent bloke, doesn’t change the way I feel about you though” he said before picking Dawn up and twirling her around “Bye Dawn.”

“Bye Spike, this new bet you’ve made is stupid” she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Yeah well me and your big sis here aren’t exactly the smartest in the bunch” he smiled before their flight was announced.

Dawn watched as they both made their way through the gate and gave them a final wave as they went through to the plane.

Yes Buffy and Spike were idiots but they were also crazy about each other and that’s all that they needed.

END