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Author's Chapter Notes:
I forgot to put this chapter in!! damn!
Buffy closed her eyes against the suns harsh rays and enjoyed the feel of damp grass against her heated skin.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she was trying to make sense of the string of French words that had been thrown at her, but she wasn’t trying very hard.

“Slayer! Are you even bloody well listenin to me?”

Buffy turned her head to the side to see an exasperated Spike leaning on his elbow and staring at her with raised eyebrows. “I’m not lyin out here, riskin gettin a particularly deadly suntan, for the good of my health ya know.”

Buffy wrinkled her nose, “You’re in the shade Spike, you haven’t even started to freckle yet. Chill. And no one asked you to tutor me.”

Spikes mouth dropped open in indignation. “Well, that’s a load of crap slayer. Everyone asked me to tutor you, Willow most especially, and after seein what she’s had to deal with the last couple of years my respect for poor Red has rocketed. You’re not even tryin.”

Buffy glared at him. “Me and Willow made good progress actually. And she liked tutoring me. And she wasn’t a pain in the ass about it.” She ignored Spike’s snort and decided to show him what a good student she was by putting on her best French accent and trying to answer the question he’d posed.

Spike immediately cracked up, only trying to stifle his laugh when he saw Buffy’s hurt expression.

“What? You asked me if I’d like to go to the beach today and I said –"

“ ‘Yes, I’d love to stroke your pineapple, show me how’.”

Buffy’s eyes went wide as she reddened “No I didn’t!”

Spike grinned, “Yeah you did. And I’ll show you how later, but first I really think we should work on your French pet.”

Buffy punched him on the arm but smiled despite herself. She tried to be huffy as she plucked at the grass beside her.

“But it’s such a waste of the day. And French is a stupid language.”

“Try tellin the French that. Look luv, there are plenty of other things I’d rather be doin with you today” Spike bit his lip suggestively and Buffy tried her best not to blush again, “But you’re mom would really like you to get a passin grade in somethin this year, an seein as how I’m pretty damn perfect at French, and everythin else I might add, it seems like a good place to start yeah?”

Buffy sighed. “I get that mom wants me to do well at school, but seriously, what does it matter? Right now Angel – Angelus, and Drusilla are off somewhere planning who knows what. Something bad, something even worse than the hell that’s already happened, could be right around the corner, and I’m supposed to care about how you say ‘The beach is pretty” in French?”

Spike sat up properly and tilted his head to the side.

“You’re gonna get through this Buffy. And I don’t mean French class. Cos, unless your teachers a colossal perv, that’s not lookin too likely about now. You’re gonna be ok pet.”

Buffy frowned. “I know I am.”

Spike shook his head. “You know it, but you don’t believe it. I know school might seem like a waste of time at the moment, but this will all end. And when it does school will still be there, so, sorry luv, but you can’t get away with not learnin stuff.”

Buffy’s eyes were still lowered. She hated how Spike always saw past her crap and bluster and knew just exactly what was troubling her. He had a way of reading her which no one ever had. It meant she could never lie to him about anything, and she was used to putting on a brave face, to acting strong no matter how much she was falling apart inside. As much as it annoyed her though it was strangely comforting, to know there was someone in her life now who she could be completely honest with and know that they wouldn’t think any the less of her for it.

Spike took her hand, stopping her progress in pulling up the whole lawn. She couldn’t pretend to ignore the way the bottom of her stomach dropped out as he touched her, or the tingles that spread up and down her body. The time she had been spending with Spike lately had been becoming more and more important. It was like he’d taken part of her with him the moment they’d met, and she never really felt complete without him there to put it in place again. It was strange, to say the least, that even while the shadow of Angel hung threateningly over her, she could feel something for someone else. But what she was starting to realise she felt for Spike was so different to what she’d felt for Angel. She didn’t want to explore it though. Not yet at least. It scared the hell out of her, and right now she had enough going on without dragging her heart back into the ring.

Spike was stroking her hand in soothing, and highly distracting, circles. “Slayer, look at me.” Buffy reluctantly dragged her eyes up to meet his flawless blues. “You’re goin to be ok. Might not feel like it right now. Might not feel like it for a while. But you will be ok. You’re a hell of a lot stronger than you know. Stronger than most people could ever dream of bein. An thats not cos you’re a slayer. It’s cos you’re you. Miss Buffy Anne Summers, holier than thou, riotous pain in my ass, girl-who-sucks-at-French. Buffy Summers, loyal friend, strong ally, lovin, courageous... beautiful. You’re a hell of a woman Buffy. Don’t ever forget that.”

The words Spike spoke, the way he looked at her as he said them, and the way her heart had hammered in her chest the whole time, were all things Buffy would never forget.
Beautiful. He had called her beautiful. And now her insides were all mushy and there seemed to be weird cherub things flying around inside her head...

“Now, stop hoggin all the cookies, and try and bloody well learn somethin! Comprende? “

Buffy shook herself from her Spike induced haze and smiled, “That’s Italian!”

Spike grinned, “It’s Spanish, but that’s close enough.”

Buffy groaned, and, predicting a long afternoon, settled herself back comfortably on the grass again.





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