It looked out of place, much like Buffy felt at the moment. She supposed they'd need to buy new furniture now. And with the money the record company had given Spike, they could actually afford it. Not that they were anywhere near rich, but there had been a nice sum for the band when they'd signed with the label, and promises of more to come if the album turned out to be a hit.
It was all hitting Buffy now in a way that it hadn't completely in New York. Everything in her life had just changed completely. She'd gone from a struggling college student dating a struggling musician on the East Coast to living on the West Coast with the man who was quite possibly the Next Big Thing in music. To say that was going to be an adjustment was a huge understatement.
She stopped in the bedroom, taking in the sight of the coverless bed and the boxes piled around it. She and Spike had slept on that bed almost every night since they'd gotten together, and yet now, it seemed different to her, new somehow. She ran her hand against the bare mattress, trying to remind herself that this was their bed, and that when they slept in it, they'd still be the same people they'd always been. He was still Spike and she was still Buffy. And they were still very much in love. She had to hold on to that.
"Luv? Are you all right?"
Spike called to her from the living room, and Buffy knew that she wouldn't be able to just turn around and see him through the doorway like she would've been able to in their apartment in New York. Now they had a hallway. "I'm fine!" she called back. "Just getting used to the place." Her voice echoed slightly. The apartment wasn't huge, but still, they didn't have nearly enough stuff to fill it. An entire bedroom sat empty, save for Spike's guitar.
"Why don't you come out into the living room?"
Buffy knew she should. After all, they had guests. Dawn and Giles were there visiting them, in what was now their home. She put on her best smile and went down to the hall and into the living room, joining Dawn and Spike on the couch.
Spike put his arm around her as soon as she sat down, and Buffy relaxed some just from the touch. She still had Spike, and that was what was important. She'd get used to everything else.
"Thanks again, Giles, for all your help in getting us set up here," Buffy said, looking across the living room at her step-father.
"And again, it was my pleasure, Buffy," Giles replied. "I was more than happy to do it. For one thing, I'm thrilled that the two of you are going to be closer. I worried about you both being so far away."
"I'm happy about that, too," Dawn said. "Can I come visit you guys on weekends?"
"Sometimes," Buffy answered, turning to her little sister. "But only until you start annoying me."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, I wasn't planning on like moving in or anything. Although you guys do have an extra bedroom…"
"That you're not living in," Buffy said emphatically, prompting Dawn to stick out her tongue. Buffy stuck her tongue out in an automatic response, and for a moment, she was reminded of when she was younger and she did live with Dawn. There had been problems for her growing up, sure, but there had been good stuff, too. Maybe living close to her family again—at least the part of her family she was currently on speaking terms with—could end up being for the best.
She leaned back against Spike, hoping that that would indeed be the case.
As they were all preparing to go to bed, Spike found his father in the kitchen, getting a glass of water. "Are you finding everything you need, Da?" Spike asked. "I know it's not too easy, what with all the boxes and all."
"Yes, I'm fine," Giles replied, then took a sip of his water.
"Good. I'll just be heading off to bed then."
"Will, wait. I wanted to speak to you."
Spike stilled. Even if his relationship with his father wasn't the strained one it used to be, he still felt a twinge of nervousness whenever a conversation started off like that. "Yes?"
Giles cleared his throat. "I wanted you to know, well, that I'm very happy for you. I've always known you were talented, son, and it's good to see the rest of the world catching on to that."
Spike blinked. "You…you are?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I guess, well, you always seemed to disapprove of my interest in music."
"I never disapproved of your interest. I just…worried about you. I was afraid that you'd get mixed up with the wrong sort of people." Giles lowered his voice and added, "Like I did."
Spike frowned. "Like you did? What, are librarians the wrong sort of people nowadays?"
"I wasn't always a librarian, you know," Giles said, giving his son a look. "I used to be, well, they called me Ripper."
"They called you what?" Spike asked, his eyes widening. "And who is they?"
"I had my own band, once upon a time," Giles informed his son, almost laughing at the look of shock that crossed the younger man's face. "And all that music you always blared through the house, probably hoping it would drive me insane, I listened to it when it was new. Bloody hell, I knew the guys who were making it."
Spike couldn't stop his jaw from dropping. His father had been in a rock band and called himself Ripper? There was no way… "Are you serious?"
"Yes. Why do you think I was so worried about you? I saw my own youth playing itself out all over again in you, and it terrified me. I made some horrible choices in my teens and early twenties, and sometimes it still amazes me that I'm not dead."
"What happened to change all that?" Spike asked.
"Your mother. Anne found me at my worst and pulled me back up, turned me into a decent man." Giles smiled softly. "Somehow, I think you can understand what you mean."
"Yeah," Spike admitted. "I can."
Giles reached out and clasped his hand over Spike's shoulder. "But it appears that you managed to do better than I did when it comes to a career in music, and I'm happy for you." He pulled his arm back and grinned. "I look forward to telling people I have a famous son."
Spike chuckled. "Everyone seems so certain that I'm going to be famous. I'm still not even sure that I'm going to sell one album."
"Well, I may be a little biased, but I have no doubt that you're going to sell many, many more than one."
"Buffy seems to think so, too," Spike replied. "She thinks I'm going to end up being huge and surrounded by groupies."
Giles arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Is she worried about that?"
"Apparently she is worried and she isn't worried at the same time, however that can be possible. But it doesn't matter, because I'm not going to stray."
"You're going to be faced with temptation," Giles replied, taking off his glasses as he spoke. "It may become difficult to…"
"No, it won't," Spike said, cutting his father off. "Not with Buffy. I know what I have, and I know how lucky I am to have it. I'm not throwing that away, not for a groupie or anyone else for that matter." He lowered his voice. "Once this album is done and things are a bit more stable, I'm going to ask her to marry me."
"Are you?"
Spike nodded. "My plan had been to wait until she graduated from school next year, but I had to change that a bit."
"Just be careful, son."
"I will be. I'd have to be a complete idiot to leave that woman." Spike smiled. "Everything that's happening now, all I can think is how much I want to share it all with Buffy, y'know? Nothing seems as good without Buffy with me."
Giles could see the love his son felt written clearly across his face. Every time he was around Buffy, it was clear just how much Spike adored her, and Giles knew if anyone could survive the challenges they were bound to face in the coming months, it was them. "Then I look forward to the wedding."
Spike's smile widened. "Yeah, me, too."
The bedroom was dark except for the dim light coming through the window when Spike came in to join Buffy. "Are you still awake, kitten?" he asked softly.
"Yes," Buffy replied. "I've been waiting for you."
"Sorry I took so long, luv. I was talking to my da in the kitchen."
"That's fine. I'm just glad you're here now."
"Me, too." Spike shut the bedroom door and undressed before slipping into the bed with her. Buffy immediately turned towards him, settling against his chest.
"It feels more like our bed when you're in it," Buffy told him, her arms wrapping around his waist.
"Did it not before?" Spike asked.
"A little. Everything seems weird now. Like it's our stuff, but it's not. I guess I'm just going to have to be used to living in a new apartment."
"So am I," Spike admitted. "Everything happened so quickly. I'm still processing it."
"Glad I'm not alone in that."
"You're not alone in any of it."
Somehow, just that simple declaration of his did much to ease her worries. She kissed his bare chest. "I love you, Spike."
"I love you, too. So bloody much, I can't even begin to tell you."
"I know though," Buffy said, hugging him tightly. "I feel it every time you look at me, every time you touch me."
"Then you know there's nothing that can keep me away from you."
Buffy wanted to believe him, so she did. "I do know that."
"You know," Spike began, his voice dipping as his hand smooth over the contour of Buffy's hip, "If you need a reminder that this is, in fact, our bed…"
"People are sleeping in the living room, honey," Buffy said, even as she arched into his touch.
"Your point? It's our first night in our new place, baby. We have to shag."
"Have to, huh?"
Spike nodded. "It's one of the unspoken rules of moving."
Buffy glanced behind her at the shut door. The living room was all the way down the hall… She looked back at Spike. "Well, I guess I can't argue with the rules." She shook her finger at him. "But no making me scream. I mean it."
"I can't be held responsible for your screaming," Spike replied, tongue wagging.
"That's not what you normally say. Normally you're all…"
Before Buffy could finish her sentence, Spike was on her, kissing her hard. Buffy hooked her leg and rolled him over so Spike could settle on top of her, between her hips.
"Starting to feel any more like our bed?" Spike asked, his hand caressing her dampened folds.
"Yes," Buffy moaned softly, both in answer to his question and to encourage what he was doing. "Spike, yes…"
"I could never get enough of you, Buffy. I've already been inside you so many times I've long since lost count, and I want you just as much now as I did the first time." Spike shook his head. "No. I want you more."
He punctuated his statement by sliding inside of her, filling her with a powerful stroke. Buffy bit her lip to keep from crying out, her fingernails scoring his shoulders. Spike kept his movements even and steady, stirring the passion in Buffy's body.
"See, pet," he said, his voice roughened with emotion and need. "We're home. As long as we're together, we'll always be home. Can you feel that?"
Buffy held on to him tightly, her legs wrapping around his to bring him even closer. "Yes…I can feel it, Spike."
They both stopped talking again, the only noises in the room harsh breathing and moans, mixed with the sound of their bodies meeting. When Spike felt the first flutters of Buffy's orgasm around his cock, he kissed her deeply, swallowing her cry of release even as he joined her in pleasure.
Spike rolled over and gathered Buffy into his arms, a smile of contentment on his face as he murmured his goodnight. Buffy smiled as well, her eyes closing as she drifted off to sleep in their bed.
There's their first night in L.A. Is everyone still with me after the move?
I'm going to try to keep the same posting schedule I did last week, with new chapters of this story on Tuesday and Thursday.
Please review!