After the other couple had gone home, Spike had coaxed her into his bathtub with him, and now she felt comfortably relaxed and sated. She'd snagged one of his t-shirts to sleep in, and now that she was snuggling down under the covers, she couldn't be happier. She had no doubt she'd have to deal with the media and concerned parents again in the morning, but knowing she could follow it up by coming home to Spike made it not as hard to face.
She hadn't talked to Robin much that day since the phone calls had kept him pretty busy, but he'd told her the school board was looking into what they could do to keep the paparazzi as far away from school grounds as possible.
Spike joined her in the bed, immediately pulling her into his arms. As if he were able to read her mind, he asked, "Are you still planning on going into work tomorrow, luv?"
"Yes," Buffy replied without hesitation. "I'm not going to let them run my life. I love my job, and I care about my students—I'm not just going to turn my back on them because I don't feel like dealing with the media. That's what's pissed me off the most about all of this, you know? They have no right to interfere with the education of so many kids like that."
"I know." Spike kissed her hair. "You really do care about what you do, don't you, sweetheart?"
"I do," Buffy told him. "I want to help teenagers. So many people just blow them off as 'problems' or 'going through a phase,' and I feel like if someone had taken a different approach with me, maybe I wouldn't have had to go through so much pain. I want to help them. I want to save them."
"There's not a lot of people out there willing to do that," Spike said, his arms tightening around her. "You really are an amazing woman, Buffy."
"I don't really feel like it should be anything special. I'm just doing what I feel is right."
"So many people don't," Spike replied. "But then again, I knew a long time ago you weren't like most people."
Buffy moved just enough out of his arms so she could look at his face. "So you're okay with me working as a high school guidance counselor? It's not like, I don't know, not glamorous enough?"
Spike frowned. "Why would I care about that?"
Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. You've got this whole new life…"
"No, not really," he told her, shaking his head. "Sure, I've got some new stuff, a posh house, but I'm the same man I was three years ago. I'd never try to keep you from doing something you obviously love so much. All I want in the world is for you to be happy."
"I am happy," Buffy replied. "I mean, yeah, I wish the annoying campers outside would move along, but if that's what I have to put up with to be with you, then I can accept it. You told me we could get through any sort of backlash together, and I'm holding you to that."
"Then I won't let you down," Spike promised as he leaned in to kiss her.
After he pulled away, Buffy yawned and nuzzled against his chest, getting herself situated. "I love you, Spike."
"I love you, too, pet."
Buffy smiled as her eyes drifted shut and she let the rhythm of Spike's breathing lull her to sleep.
Buffy groaned as her alarm went off significantly earlier than she was used to. That was the one real downside to staying over at Spike's—she had to get up early enough to go all the way across town to work.
She turned off the alarm and started to get out of the bed, but stopped when Spike's arm fell over her, holding her in place. He pulled her back across the mattress to him and nuzzled the back of her neck.
"Do you have to get up right now, luv?" he asked, his voice deep and husky from sleep.
Buffy trembled, unable to control her immediate reaction to him. "I should," she replied, even as she arched back to give his lips better access,
"You sure, pet? You can't stay long enough to help me take care of this?" He thrust his erection against her backside, slipping in between her legs and rubbing himself against her damp folds.
Buffy whimpered, her mind fogging and making her forget why she was supposed to be getting out of the bed in the first place. Spike took the sound as a sign of compliance and lifted her leg up over his so he could slide into her from behind.
His hands crept under the t-shirt she wore to tweak her nipples, and Buffy arched against him. The room was still dark—dawn not yet broken—and Buffy let herself get lost in Spike's touch and the feelings it invoked. His strokes were almost lazy, slow as he wasn't fully awake, but every one hit its mark, driving her towards the edge as quickly as one of their more frantic couplings.
"You gonna come for me, baby?" Spike rumbled against her, nipping at her ear. The simple question made Buffy moan, doing much to drive her closer to her peak.
"Spike…ooh…" Buffy's eyes fluttered, her breathing coming in sharp pants. She was so close. If he would just…
Suddenly, his hand was between her legs. He slid over her mound, gently caressing her before he leaned in further, his teeth clamping onto the junction of her neck and shoulder just as his finger found her clit and flicked it hard.
Buffy wailed in release, the slight pain from his bite mixing with the pleasure between her legs and sending her topping over into orgasm. Spike followed her into bliss, moaning against her skin as he came.
She panted as his softening cock slid out of her, his arm still keeping her close as he nuzzled into her hair. She could tell by his breathing that he was slipping back into sleep, and Buffy wanted nothing more than to stay there in his arms. She didn't want to have to face what was out there, and when she was with Spike, it was easy to pretend the outside world didn't exist.
However, she had her job, and she couldn't turn her back on her students just because she had a sexy, cuddly boyfriend.
Reluctantly, she pulled herself away from Spike, a pang in her heart as she watched him instinctively roll towards the warmth of the spot she'd just vacated. With a sigh, she started to head towards the bathroom, but stopped when she heard Spike's voice.
"Kitten?"
She turned and watched as he opened one eye to look at her. "Hmm?"
"Reset the alarm for eight, would you, luv?"
"Okay." Buffy smiled softly as she picked up the alarm and reset it, warmed by the domestic moment. She missed moments like these, missed simply sharing her life with him. Beyond her physical desire for him was a desire to have him near, as part of her life. Without him, even small, daily things had seemed hollow.
Buffy made her way to the bathroom, opting for a shower if she was going to have any chance of getting out of there on time. She smiled as she stepped under the warm spray, her mind focused more on the wonderful way she'd started her morning than the chaos that faced her outside the haven she'd found with Spike.
She reached for the shampoo, her smile widening as she remembered the night before, when she'd put her shampoo and soap on the list of things she needed from her apartment. Spike had admitted them with an almost sheepish look that he'd picked some up for her on his way home from her apartment Monday evening, just in case she ended up needing them at his house at some point. She wasn't sure what touched her more—the fact that he'd thought about her like that, or the fact that he'd still remembered after three years what she used.
Buffy found herself paying more attention to things now that she'd taken for granted with him in the past. He did so much quietly, helping her in ways that didn't call attention to the deeds themselves. In the year they'd lived together, she'd never reached for her shampoo bottle and found it empty—Spike had always made sure the shower was well-stocked for her. Even if he'd left his own things in disarray, he'd carefully organize hers every night before he went to bed to make sure she wasn't late to work or to class because she couldn't find something.
It had been little things, almost imperceptible when he'd been there, but the absence of them had been glaringly obvious.
She made a promise to herself to never take them for granted again.
After she finished in the bathroom, she walked back into the bedroom, her robe tied loosely around her. Spike was lying stomach-down on the bed, the sheet just grazing the top of his buttocks while face was buried against her pillow. The sight made her lick her lips.
Buffy managed to tear her gaze away from him and went to the closet, finding where he'd hung up the clothes Mona had brought over for her. Spike had cleared out a section of his large, walk-in closet just for her things, and again, she found her heart warming at the gesture.
When she finished getting ready for work, Buffy went back over to the bed, sitting down beside Spike. She smiled softly as she reached out and stroked his hair, the first rays of sunlight coming in to illuminate him.
Spike opened his eyes and craned his neck to look up at her. "You leaving, pet?"
"Yeah. I'll come back here after work, though. What are your plans?"
"I have a few interviews to do," Spike told her. "I don't know when I'll be home exactly, but we need to try to leave here by seven to make it to that party. Today's probably going to be pretty insane."
"That's all right. I think I can handle the insanity."
He chuckled. "Good to know."
Buffy leaned down and kissed the side of his head. "I love you, baby."
"Love you, too," Spike replied with a sleepy smile.
"See you when you get home tonight."
"Okay." Spike's eyes closed as his head when back down to the pillow.
Buffy kissed his cheek before she got up, fighting the desire to climb back into the bed with him. She reminded herself she could do that later tonight, after this party thing. She'd be sleeping in his bed again, after all.
She left the bedroom, picking up her purse from a table near the door before walking out. She locked the door behind her, another smile on her face as she remembered Spike giving her his keys the night before. He'd told her he'd had someone over that morning to change the locks in case Eve felt like stopping by again, and had just thought it might be a good idea if Buffy had her own set of keys.
He'd seemed nervous when he'd given it to her, as if he were afraid she'd take it as moving too quickly. She hadn't. Instead, she'd been touched that he'd thought about her, and had thanked with a kiss.
A kiss that had turned into things Buffy didn't have time to let her mind wander thinking about…
She turned around and walked towards the driveway where the driver Spike had called the evening before to pick her up was waiting. She hadn't liked the idea of driving to and from work, and Spike had told her he'd take care of it without any complaint. Buffy thought perhaps it should bother her to let him do those sorts of things for her, but it didn't. She knew Spike well enough to know he wasn't trying to buy her, or that he'd never hold his money over her.
She'd worried some in the beginning that fame may have gone to his head, but she'd quickly dropped that notion. He was the same man she'd loved three years ago.
As soon as she was in range, several flashbulbs lit on the other side of the gate, and Buffy winced, but didn't look their way. She greeted the driver as he opened the door for her, yet even as she tried to ignore the paparazzi, her thoughts were on them. She wondered if they had simply gotten up very early in the morning, or if they had been camped outside of Spike's house all night, just waiting for a glimpse of one of them.
She thought it was probably, sadly enough, the latter.
Buffy took a deep breath as the car pulled out of the driveway, ignoring the shouts and flashbulbs outside of the vehicle, determined not to let them control her life.
Instead, she leaned back in the seat, her eyes closing as she sat out the long ride to work.
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