“You know, I started it. The whole having a soul. Before it was all the cool new thing.” Angel said.
“What are you? 12?” Buffy said. “Look I know that you're thinking Spike isn’t worth anything and that he’s not a good person...”
Angel cut Buffy off, “that’s just it, Buffy he’s not a person, he a thing, a creature and....wait he still goes by spike?”
“Yeah. And you’re wrong; he is more of a person than anyone I have ever known.”
Hidden in the shadows of the crypt, spike stands there stunned and speechless.
Angel tries to interrupt her but she’s on a role and cuts him off.
“No. I don’t want to hear it, angel. I've known both you and Angelus and you want to know the difference? I’ll tell you. Angelus hated me with everything that he was. Angel you always, and I mean always have tried to distance yourself from the demon within you, you can't, when will you learn that? The thing is, is that the demon is always there. I learned that from Oz. and spike...he...he has never been something he wasn’t. He never pretended or tried. He went and fought for his soul, for me. Angel no one else but me. That alone means so much. It means the world to me. He fought for it without any bit of a soul. Yes he may have had a chip in his head but that didn't stop him from hiring someone or even something to kill me. He's changed, and he did that for me, but also for himself.” Buffy said, as she paused to look at Angel’s reaction.
“That’s great Buffy, but I had no choice, but if I could, I would go fight....”
“Angel, I know that you would go and fight, but it wouldn’t be you that has to fight. Spike fought for his soul, when he didn’t have one. He wanted to be a better man. His demon has loved me and his soul loves me. You cant have it both ways, Angel. Its all or nothing.”
“Buffy…” angel tried to interrupt her, but she wouldn’t let her.
“Why are you so jealous? The fact is angel, yes I love you, and a part of me always will. But I’m not in love with you anymore. I don’t know if I ever truly was. We shared something special, but that’s in the past and we have to move on. You were my first, in so many ways, but it will never work.” Buffy said. “I have had to deal with so many things in my life and the one constant in my life has always been spike. This hurts you and I know that but you need to hear it. Spike did something for me that no one has ever done. He doesn’t walk on eggshells for me. He treats me as an equal. He doesn’t put me up on some pedestal to worship, although if he did, I wouldn’t mind...but that’s beside the point. He makes me feel everything other than being dead. I was in heaven and he was there for me. He looked out for me. Hell, Angel, he stayed, he stayed for me, he never left and he helps. He is my rock, and he helped so much when I first came back. He listened to me and didn’t push me. He just took it like it was and did what he could.”
“You never told me, how could I know? Angel said.”
“Simple, I was a warrior for the people and I died protecting them. If you don’t think I go to heaven then what did you think? God angel, you can be so thick sometimes. Look, I’m not going to get into this with you.” Buffy asked.
“I think I deserve to get into this with you, Buffy.” Angel stated starting to get married.
“Angel, look…we can never be together. You have taken so many things from me, my freedom of choice being at the top of the life.” Buffy said, trying to get through this with out staking angel.
In the shadows, spike senses the coming anger that if Angel doesn’t stop, Buffy will stake him and while he may hate the giant poof, he know that it wasn’t fair of Buffy to have to kill him for a second time.
Spike stepped out of the shadows and moved toward the two. He saw the clenched fists of Buffy and the way angel was overstepping the boundaries that he had set up.
“Peaches, why don’t you leave the girl alone and let her make her own decisions. She’s said her piece and its time for you to move on.”
“Stay out of this Spike,” Angel all but snarled out.
“Back off angel, spike has done nothing wrong. If you haven’t noticed I’m about to face the apocalypse of my life, this time who knows what will happen and all you can do is complain about me wanting to see if the something I have with spike will ever be more…. Say you bit then leave…give me a second front and that’s it.”
“All right, I only want you to be happy Buffy…this amulet is supposed to help, not sure how but it needs to be worn by a champion that is more than human.” He hands her the amulet. After having said his bit, he takes one last look and turns. Head down he walks out of the cemetery and leaves Sunnydale.
********************
After he left, Buffy turned to spike and asked, “was I ever really that pathetic?”
“Well only once or twice, but lets leave it up to the teenage naivety and lusting at first sight.” Spike said to her.
“Sounds good. Lets go home and get some rest…its time to end this thing.”
************************************************************************
Later that night, as Buffy and spike were getting ready to rest before the big fight, Buffy turned to spike and asked, “Spike?”
“Yeah luv?”
“I...I need you to know, incase something happens and we don’t make it or just anything. Please don’t say anything until I finish. All right. You did something for me that no one has ever done for me. And I mean no one. You treated me like an equal, and you fought with me and you fought for your soul for me. Buffy started to have trouble speaking. I never knew that a person, a man could care that much. I always thought I would die young and be forgotten, well I was partly right...I mean I did die, but I wasn’t forgotten and something tells me that if something happens, I will never be forgotten. I love you. And don’t tell me that I don’t mean it. I love you so much and it scares me. It scares me to the point where I can’t think. You were right, Great love is filled with passion. And I think we have that.”
“Buffy...luv...I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me that it’s real, that you believe me that this is right. Tell me that when we win we’ll have a future. Tell me that we can try this and that it will work. Please, I love you so much and I’m so scared that I’m going to loose you and then I think back to everything you’ve ever said to me. And I know that no matter what you have never lied to me or sugar coated it. You always told me the truth no matter what. I love you and I cant deny it and I don’t want to. You’re the one for me and I don’t want this chance to pass me by.
“Buffy, pet...we will have a chance and we will make it work and we will win. And when we do, we will go at whatever pace you want...I never thought you would give me this chance.”
*************
The final battle started and everyone started fighting. Spike tried to get Buffy to give him the amulet but she refused, instead she had willow use it to enhance the scythe’s power. The only big surprise was when spikes heart started beating for the first time in over a century. Only moments after the battle began it was over, and it was spike whom through the final punch. The first was banished to a different plain and unable to return, for 1000 centuries, or until someone brought back a warrior for the light side after death.
Buffy made sure that Giles recorded everything about the fight and the information leading up to it. She wanted to make sure that there was no way that the first could return until it absolutely could and when it did, the fight would be over without a battle.
***************
A few weeks later
Buffy and spike were out on there usual routine patrol, dusting the occasional vamp. Planning their impending nuptials in a double ceremony with Anya and Xander who made up and realized that life apart wasn’t what either wanted.
Within the past few weeks, the town of Sunnydale had returned to normal, well as normal as life on the hell mouth could be.
For the first time in history though, a slayer lived past her expiration date and managed to have a life outside of demons and darkness. She managed to have her dreams come true and live a life as normal as she could.
**************Should I write a Sequel? Review***********
Author's Chapter Notes:
I DONT OWN ANYTHING, IT BELONGS TO jOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY.