Author's Chapter Notes:
Gift request for Musicbitch!
Ordinary Heroes




Spike slowly opened his eyes, staring at the surroundings with a puzzled look on his face. Feeling the warmth pressed against his side, he turned toward it, a frown on his face. The lines in his forehead soon smoothed out when he saw Buffy securely nestled beside him. The night before came back to him in a rush. The argument, the criticism, and then somehow they managed to get through it. Managed to see each other on their own level.


“Spike? Could you… stay here?”


“Sure. That diabolical old torture device, the comfy chair. It'll do me fine.”


“No, I mean… here. Will you just hold me?”



He hadn’t questioned her. Had never dreamed of it. The entire situation felt too surreal to be true, even as he’d walked over to the bed, watching her make room for him, barely moving over, as if she couldn’t wait to be in his arms.


Spike shook his head at the ridiculous thought, even as the image of her immediately moving into his embrace played continuously through his head. The way she’d fit with him, curling into him, trusting him in a way that she’d never done in the past. Her legs resting over his while his hand had settled on her knee. The feel of her hand on his hip, desperately needing contact with him in the simplest form as his fingers ran over her hair in a soothing gesture.


It had been perfect. A memory that would forever stay with him as one of the most wonderful of his entire existence.


Spike continued to watch her, seeing how peaceful and young she appeared to be when she was asleep. Running a hand over her hair, he studied her face. No longer the carefree girl he’d come across when he’d arrived in Sunnydale. He had a feeling that this girl, the girl who was lying with him at that moment, wouldn’t know what it was like to go to the Bronze and go dancing with her friends. She wouldn’t know how to relax and have fun and not have to worry about her destiny or the destinies of those in her care. She didn’t know how to forget about her problems and find the simple joys in life.


But something had happened last night. Something that he was almost reluctant to focus on. No, she could no longer be that carefree girl – but she could depend on others. On him. No longer focusing on the potential Slayers or her sister or her friends. Everyone she had ever cared about had betrayed her, allowing her to finally open up. Spike wasn’t sure if he wanted it to be under these circumstances that they finally got through to each other, but he knew that this was a turning point for them. A night that would never be forgotten.


He watched as she opened her eyes, blinking a few times before jolting slightly and looking around the room.


“It’s alright,” he said in a soothing tone, trying to ignore the twinge in his gut that accompanied her reaction. “Nothing happened, remember?” he said, seeing her eyes turn to his, the frown lines and the façade of the warrior inside of her coming to the forefront as she looked at him. It was an expression that he and everyone else who had lived in the house the last few months had grown accustomed to. Not the anger and bitterness from last year – this expression told of loss and regret. Wanting to make the right decisions and constantly second-guessing herself. Spike looked away, realizing she was probably rethinking the night before, if their previous nightly encounters from a year before were any indication. “Virtue’s still intact,” he said, pulling away from her, unable to keep the bitter note from creeping into his voice as he stood up.


“Spike, what’s wrong?” she asked, following his movements and standing up as he reached for his duster. “You’re not leaving here until you talk to me.”


“Nothing for you to worry about, Slayer,” he said, pulling on his coat, readjusting the collar as he turned to face her, his own mask firmly in place, guarding each of his emotions that he had carelessly left unguarded with her the night before. “I’m sure you’ve got loads to do today… track me down after sunset, if you need… if I can help.”


“Where are you going?” she asked, catching his arm in a strong grip, preventing him from leaving the room.


“I know the drill. Morning after – regardless of what happened – it’s time to move on.”


“This wasn’t exactly a sexual situation, Spike,” she said quietly, moving in front of him until he was forced to look at her.


“No, it’s not,” he agreed, taking in an unneeded breath. “It’s much more serious than that.”


“Then why are you running away?” she asked, her grip on his arm subtly changing, no longer restraining him from leaving.


“Because I can’t bear it if I have to watch you walk away first,” he said, looking down at the floor with tears in his eyes, hating that she was able to tear down his emotions and get to the core of him so easily. “Seen it too many times… I can’t take that after the night we just shared.”


“There is something that I need to do,” she admitted with a sigh, seeing his expression close off. “But that doesn’t mean I want to leave.”


Forcing a smile to his lips, Spike shook his head. “Don’t need to sugarcoat anything for me, Slayer-”


“Stop it,” she said in a firm tone, seeing him look at her in surprise.


“What?”


“Stop calling me ‘Slayer’. We’ve moved beyond that, Spike, and I don’t like the idea that you’re regressing back to this. Last night was…”


“If you say mistake-”


“It wasn’t,” she said in a strong voice. “It was… I was able to forget about everything. That’s… I don’t remember a time when that’s actually been possible.”


Spike stared at her for a long moment, seeing the honesty in her eyes as she looked at him. “Were you there with me?” he asked quietly, tilting his head to study her.


“I was,” she admitted, smiling softly.


There were a million more questions he could’ve asked at that moment, but he stayed quiet, staring into the eyes of the woman he loved.


“Time to go be heroes,” he murmured a moment later, seeing her smile gratefully.


Slowly reaching up to cup his cheek, Buffy’s fingers caressed his skin, closing her eyes when they both closed the distance between them, their lips tenderly brushing together in a chaste kiss. A soft kiss that held a finality to a part of themselves and the beginning of everything that lay before them.


Pressing her forehead to his, Buffy closed her eyes, smiling when his hands lightly settled on her hips. “We already are heroes.”






~The End~





You must login (register) to review.