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One Year Later


Buffy frantically moved throughout the gallery, making sure that everything was perfect and spotless for the twentieth anniversary gala that was to take place in less than an hour.

“Everything looks great,” Anya said as she adjusted a small ceramic statue. “Stop walking around so much- you’re making me nervous.”

“Sorry,” Buffy mumbled as she moved the statue in front of Anya back to the way it had been a moment before. “I just want everything to be amazing tonight. It’s a big deal, you know? I never thought I’d see this place turn twenty. We barely made it to nineteen.”

“It’s been a whirlwind year, hasn’t it?” Joyce asked, exiting Buffy’s office and closing the door behind her. “I must admit that I had my reservations about keeping this place open, but you’ve done an excellent job with it, dear.”

“Thank you,” Buffy replied, her eyes traveling around the room in an attempt to notice any small flaws.

“Where’s Spike?” Anya asked, sharing a look with Joyce. “He’s supposed to be here, right?”

“He had issues with his flights,” Buffy answered, stopping her perusal of the gallery to look at Anya instead. “The plane he took to New York arrived half an hour later than it was supposed to, which caused him to miss the flight to Los Angeles.” She paused and anxiously wrung her hands. “I don’t know if he’ll be here or not.”

“Who?” a voice asked from behind her.

She whirled around and grinned when she saw Spike standing near the front of the building, already dressed in a black, pinstriped suit. She walked to him and hugged him tightly, grateful that he had arrived and would be there for the party.

“I didn’t know if you’d make it,” she murmured into his chest.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” he replied, kissing her forehead. “If necessary, I would’ve run across the country to be here.”

“With those lungs of yours?” Buffy joked, playfully nudging him. “Smokers don’t tend to do well when it comes to running.”

“I haven’t smoked in a long time, thank you,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. “My lungs are fine.”

“Hello, William,” Joyce said, walking towards the couple and hugging him. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You, too, Joyce,” he replied, smiling. “How have you been?”

“Not much has changed since I saw you last month,” she answered. “You must be practically broke from all of the traveling you do.”

“It’s worth the money,” he said, winking at Buffy, who slightly blushed and averted her eyes from his.

“How were your flights?” Joyce asked conversationally, linking her arm with his as she escorted him towards the refreshments that covered a nearby table.

“Long,” he said, shrugging. “But I sat next to this wonderful redhead on my way to New York named Willow.” He looked over his shoulder at Buffy. “I thought she seemed familiar- it turns out that I saw her at the airport when you arrived in London that first time.” At Buffy’s confused expression, he continued. “She’s dating that girl you got off of the plane with. I believe her name is Tara.”

“Wow,” Buffy replied, her eyes widening slightly. “That’s quite coincidental.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” he said, grabbing a flute of champagne and handing it to her. “Want some liquid courage before people arrive?”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Buffy said, taking the glass from him. “I have to give a speech, something I loathe doing.”

“I understand completely,” he replied. “You’ll be fine, luv.”

“I hope so,” she said, sipping the champagne. “It means a lot that you’re here.”

“Told you before that I wouldn’t have missed tonight,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple.

* * * * *

Nearly two hours later, the gallery was filled with a large crowd of people, many of whom had been customers throughout the years.

“What an amazing turnout,” Joyce whispered to Buffy as they both tapped the sides of their champagne flutes with forks to get everyone’s attention.

As the group quieted down, Buffy cleared her throat and silently prayed that she wouldn’t embarrass herself somehow.

“First, on behalf of my mother, dear friend Anya, and I, I’d like to thank you all for being here tonight,” she began. “This gallery means a lot to us, and we’re happy that you’re here to celebrate this occasion with us.” As many people clapped, she smiled warmly before continuing. “It is because of our wonderful customers that not only are we celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the gallery, but we’re also celebrating the recent purchase of space for a gallery in London.”

Buffy’s eyes locked with Spike’s as more clapping ensued, the look of shock on his face amusing Buffy and causing her to giggle quietly.

“We hope to launch the new gallery overseas within the year, and I will be moving there in a couple of weeks to get things off and running,” Buffy said, sharing a smile with her mother. “I’ll be running the gallery in London, which will leave Anya in charge of everything around here.”

Joyce hugged Anya, who had no idea of Buffy and Joyce’s plan to leave the gallery in her hands.

“Are you serious?” Anya asked, looking at Joyce.

“We know you’ll do a wonderful job,” the older woman replied, smiling.

“We hope that you all will continue to support the gallery, and once again, thank you for your help and patronage over the last twenty years,” Buffy said, raising her champagne flute. “It’s because of you that the gallery is still open today, and we can’t express our gratitude enough for that. Cheers!”

Before Joyce and Buffy could clink their glasses together, Spike embraced Buffy tightly, still stunned by her announcement.

“You’re moving to London?” he asked, cupping her cheeks in his hands.

“Is that alright?” she asked, smirking. “Us sharing the city together?”

“You have no idea,” he answered, pressing his lips to hers. “I’ve dreamt of something like this for so long, Buffy.”

“Me, too,” she replied, grazing his cheek. “Especially since it means I won’t have to keep flying over an ocean to see you.”

“And we won’t have to keep chasing each other across the globe,” he added, smiling.

“Probably,” she joked, laughing when he growled warningly. “So, where can I find an apartment there?”

“Well, I know of one that has ample space for you,” he said. “And you’d have a devilishly handsome roommate, too, who’d protect you… pamper you… and shag you until you can’t walk straight.”

“Andrew needs a roommate?” she asked in faux seriousness.

He crushed his lips to hers, surprising her at the intensity of the kiss.

“Andrew knows better than to try touching my woman,” he replied in a low tone, his eyes darkening with lust.

“Your woman?” she asked. “I like the sound of that. Then again, you usually sound sexy when you’re being possessive.”

“I thought I always sound sexy?” he asked, pouting.

“Yeah, you do,” she agreed. “But you’re almost always possessive.”

“Only because I don’t want to lose you again,” he replied, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You won’t lose me again,” she said sincerely. “I’m yours, Spike.”

“I love you,” he whispered before kissing her.

“I love you, too,” she said, noticing the sparkle in his eyes. “Thank you for showing me how amazing love can be.”

“Thank you for giving me a shot,” he replied. “And for contacting me through The International Love Agency last year.”

“It was the best decision I’ve ever made,” she said, grinning.

“The Internet is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” Spike asked, pulling her even closer to him.

“Yes, it really is, William.”



The End





A/N Before I do anything else, I want to say that although this story could potentially be longer, that would inevitably involve more angst and whatnot, and this story was never intended to break away too much from being purely fluffy. I think the characters (and the gallery) have reached a good place, and I’ve accomplished everything that I wanted to with this fic.

For the final time, I’d like to thank everyone for their support and kindness throughout the duration of this story. I had a wonderful time writing it, and I’m pleased that people enjoyed it just as much as I have. It’s sad to see it end- I’m taking the end of this harder than I usually do with my stories, and that’s saying something. I hope that you enjoyed the epilogue (and the entire story), and any final comments (as usual) are encouraged and appreciated.

Oh, and have a good weekend! :)





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