Buffy was quiet for the most part, only starting to speak when they were about fifteen minutes away from home, “I have nowhere to keep them, I didn’t do the upkeep on the barn because…well, because I didn’t want to go in there anymore.”
Spike smiled, “There’s plenty of room at my mum’s place, you know that, we’ll all get together this weekend and have that BBQ, only it will be a fixer upper day with food. Sound good to you?”
She could only nod her head, too afraid to open her mouth and let the sobs out. He was a good man, not an evil bone in him, an evil tongue maybe she thought with a tiny amused sniffle, but not a bone.
“Fancy taking him out for a ride once he’s unloaded? After that I was thinking we could introduce him to the others so he won’t be as lonely until his brothers get here.”
Her interest peaked at that, “They’re all brothers?”
“Yup”
“Wow, the other two must be as gorgeous as they are.”
“They are at that.”
“Spike I don’t feel com…”
He turned the music on as loud as it could go and yelled over the sound, “We’ve been over this Summers, you can’t prove anything, but whoever did it must think you’re pretty fucken’ incredible”
She smiled despite the overwhelming urge to bawl and began singing the song now playing along with him.
When they pulled up to the farm they could smell the aroma of Jenny’s famous stew and smiled, “I’m staying for supper” Buffy said and jumped from the truck to unload her new baby.
“Cataclysm” she cooed out as she unhitched the reigns and pulled him out gently. “Come on baby doll, its okay.”
The horse walked down the small metal plank that acted as a walkway and nuzzled her shoulder.
“Love at first sight for him too it seems” Spike teased happily; never before had he purchased something for someone else and felt such joy from it.
“He’s just a big baby with a bad ass name” she giggled as they walked him over to the barn so that she could saddle him up while he saddled Slayer up again, happy to see her eager for another run already.
When Cataclysm was properly set up Buffy took a deep breath and climbed into the saddle.
He barely heard her whispered “wow” as she got used to the beast beneath her, Apocalypse had apparently been a short one, 12 hands high, but then she was a tiny slip of a thing as well. He briefly wondered if she’d even be able to Catastrophe and Carnage, twin animals standing at a whopping seventeen hands, ‘oh well’ he thought to himself, “I guess I’ll have to help her exercise ‘em’, a leer spread over his lips at the prospect of the time he would be able to spend with her.
“Not used to such a large animal between your legs?” he taunted and she arched a brow.
“Not used to such a large animal that doesn’t ruin everything by talking when it’s between my legs.” She answered, applying a light pressure to Cataclysms’ flanks and off they went, the sound of her laughter like prey, he wanted to catch up with it and make it his.
They must have been going hard for at least twenty minutes, hopping off the horses and leading them to the small pond there, loosely tying the reigns to the pole a few feet into the water so that the horses could cool down.
“So, I was thinking that maybe sometime soon me and you could do something without the gang and non ranch related” Spike began nervously.
She smiled up at him from her seated position on the ground, “Why do you sound so scared? I’ve wanted you to ask me that for years, and I’m single, so the obvious answer is yes” she gently teased.
He sat down next to her in the grass and wrapped an arm around her as they watched their horses, her head coming to lean on his shoulder.
“I guess because I wanted it too.” A moment passed before he spoke again, “I didn’t realize how much I’d missed this place” he admitted.
“Sunnydale does that to you I think. It can seem so evil when you’re younger, like if you stay you’re trapped in this small going nowhere rural town but the older you get I think you start to understand that you’re not trapped in this place, it’s trapped in you. You start to remember things a little differently, a little more maturely. Cleaning out the stables everyday wasn’t a punishment, running the horses for exercise wasn’t a chore, looking back now I see that learning those things and being surrounded by good people and fantastic animals was the best thing to ever happen to me. Mom loved it here too, more so after what you did for us, and she died one of the happiest people I knew. If only because of that Sunnydale will always be my home, demons included.”
“Demons?” he asked quietly, loving that she was opening up to him.
She laughed lightly, “It was what mom used to call bad memories, she used to say even if something seemed apocalyptic you had to face it head on, never back away.”
“You’re mom was a smart lady, is that how you got the name for your horse?”
She nodded, “Ya, and where did you come up with Slayer?”
“Nickname for an old crush”
Her interest piqued at that, “Who?”
“You.”
“Oh…” she was embarrassed to realize that she was blushing, “Can I ask why you called me that?”
“It killed me not to be with you…I’m gonna’ kiss you now Summers” he whispered, leaning in.
“About time Calendar” she breathed back before his lips pressed against hers in the most gentle display of affection she’d ever received. It was over too soon, a second in a sea of millions but it was enough. And when he pulled away she ruffled his hair and jumped up, “We better head back if we want to be ready on time to meet the gang”
He just smiled in response, the ride back was quiet but with stolen glances and secret smiles, it was the best ride of his life.
Later that night after getting out of the shower and dressing for a night out at the bar he found a small pile of daisies next to his truck and couldn’t help but smile, she was the same Buffy Summers he had wanted when he shouldn’t have, only now he could. The smile never left his face as he drove the fifteen minutes to the bar.
Walking through the creaky wooden door he couldn’t help but laugh when he saw Buffy, Willow, Cordy and Fred the center of attention as they danced on the bar to the song “Boot, Scoot and Boogy”, cat calls of “That’s how it’s done” and “Hell yeah” echoing throughout the room.
When the song finished and the girls jumped off they ordered a pitcher each and grabbed a table, Spike sliding in next to Xan and Gunn, “So, tribute to Coyote Ugly?” he asked Gunn who laughed and said no.
Buffy piped up, “Tribute to free drinks, which we get every time we do that”
The table laughed and cheers’ed each other, glasses clinking and the conversation flowing. Fuck, it really was good to be home Spike thought as he winked at Buffy over the glass he was drinking from and watched her eyes twinkle with happiness.
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