One Month Later
“Miss Buffy?”
Buffy looked up from what she had been doing, her gaze falling on her parents’ housekeeper. She smiled in response to the older woman. “Yes, Carolyn?”
Carolyn regarded the warm gaze coming from Buffy. There were times when she still wasn’t quite used to the differences in the younger woman. Gone was the spoiled brat, replaced by a kinder, more mature Buffy. The changes were something that she could get used to, but sadly, she would not have the chance.
“You have a visitor. Someone from school.”
Buffy cocked her head to the side, wondering who it could be. She quickly decided that it had to be Willow. Her other friends from school were either not speaking to her, or away for the holidays.
Buffy smiled. It would be good to see her best friend again. Things had been strained since Thanksgiving, and if she was being honest, she could use the company. Her parents had left yesterday, Christmas morning, for their annual holiday vacation. In the past, she would have spent Christmas day with Angel’s family. This year, she had the house to herself, ordered Chinese food and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Even with Carolyn around during the day, a big quiet house was a quite different from the busy sorority house she was used to.
“Great,” she told Carolyn. “I’ll be right down.”
Buffy put down the tape she’d been using and went into the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. She washed her hands and splashed some water on her face. Deciding that her appearance was good enough for Willow’s unexpected visit, she started making her way down the long hallway towards the stairs.
Halfway down the stairs, she stopped in her tracks. The person standing in her foyer was very much not Willow. He was standing with his back to her, but there was no doubt it was him. There weren’t two of those in the world.
Quickly recovering before he found her gaping from her place on the stairs, Buffy continued until her sneaker touched the marble floor.
“Spike?”
Spike watched the housekeeper disappear up the long staircase, still in awe that this was where Buffy lived. He had almost turned around, afraid that he had the wrong address. Buffy couldn’t possibly live in the biggest house he’d ever seen, by far, in his entire life.
But, apparently she did.
Spike looked around the large foyer, noticing a sitting room on his left. Without entering the room, he could see a family portrait hanging above the fireplace. The three people in the picture were smiling, but Spike found himself staring at a younger Buffy. She was every bit as stunning as always, but he could make out the sadness behind her perfect smile.
Spike was so caught up wondering about the reason behind the sad smile from someone living such a seemingly charmed life that he didn’t hear the object of his thoughts coming down the stairs. It was only the quiet squeak of her sneaker on the marble floor which shook him from his reverie.
“Spike?”
Spike quickly turned, and was surprised to see how much Buffy had changed in the last month. Physically, her hair was shorter and a darker shade of blonde and she had lost weight on her already petite frame. His heart wrenched at how worn-out she looked.
“Hello, Buffy.”
Buffy was, to say the least, shocked to see Spike standing in her house. He was the last person she ever expected to be paying her a visit. “How? Wha-what are you doing here? In my house?”
Spike let out a breath, running a hand through his hair before making eye contact again. “I needed to see you.”
It was a simple answer, but the real question was-why? There were too many possibilities, some scarier than others. But, Buffy had come too far in the last month to be a coward, so she voiced her question aloud.
Spike shrugged, as if in defeat. “I missed you.” In fact, it was defeat. He had tried as hard as he could for the past month to stay away from her. To forget about her. That obviously hadn’t worked.
Spike slowly approached her. She had yet to respond to his declaration, her gaze firmly locked on the floor. Standing right in front of her, he couldn’t help but notice how tiny she looked in the tank top and sweats she was wearing. His hand reached out to cup her chin, forcing her head up so that she was looking at him.
“I missed you,” he said again, this time a little louder and stronger.
Buffy leaned into his hand. Then, her eyes opened wide as if she had just remembered something. “Oh!” Her hand flew up to her hair. “You’re finally here and I’m a complete mess. I wasn’t expec-…I thought you were…someone else.” A blush crept into her cheeks.
Spike chuckled. “Love, you could be wearing a burlap sack and you’d be bloody gorgeous.”
The compliment putting her more at ease, Buffy remembered her manners and invited Spike to sit and have a drink.
“Actually, I can’t,” he said, much to her disappointment. “But, I would love to see you later. Maybe take you out on that date we never got to go on?”
Buffy’s crestfallen look quickly turned into one of excitement. Agreeing that he would come back a few hours later to pick her up, Buffy couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she closed the door behind him.
The ride to the restaurant was spent making meaningless conversation. More serious topics floated just under the surface, but neither felt comfortable initiating what could turn out to be an awkward discussion. Buffy was dying to know where Spike stood, but her confidence from earlier had vanished. He had invited her on a date to a nice restaurant and he was wearing a nice-and she couldn’t help but notice-expensive suit. She would take that as a good sign until he told her otherwise.
Now that they were seated, their superficial dialogue focused on the menu. Should she order the chicken or fish? Should he choose the mashed potatoes or, perhaps, a baked potato with his steak?
It was driving Buffy crazy. This wasn’t them. Their entire relationship had been so passionate and for them to be acting so uncomfortable around each other was really grating on her nerves.
After the server had taken their order, Buffy decided she’d had enough. Even though the butterflies in her stomach were leaving less and less room for the entrée she had ordered, there were things that needed to be said. And, clearly Spike wasn’t going to be making the first move.
“How are things in Sunnydale?” Okay, not as direct as she intended, but it was a start.
Spike didn’t look surprised by her question. He knew her well enough to see that she had been working up the courage to approach the subject. “Well, I still have my job.”
“So that means…”
“That Angel got his ‘A’.” Spike nodded. “I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t see any other choice.”
Buffy hung her head, still embarrassed by the part she’d played in all of it. “Spike, I’m so, so sorry.”
“Why did you leave?” he asked, more serious than she’d ever seen him before. “Was it because of me?”
Buffy’s answer was interrupted by the delivery of their meals. The minute it took to refill their wine glasses stretched on forever. When she looked back at Spike, he was staring at her with an overwhelming intensity.
“No.” She paused. “Partially,” she amended, wanting to be honest with him.
“Partially?” This was the thought that had been plaguing Spike for weeks. Ever since he had found out that Buffy had dropped out of school, he had wondered if it was because of him. The educator in him couldn’t help but feel guilty, while the man in him was furious. Dropping out of school because of a failed relationship? The thought was absolutely ludicrous, and if it was true, Buffy wasn’t the changed woman she claimed to be.
“Yes, partially.” Buffy set her fork down, and looked up at Spike. “I left school because I have no future there. I love my friends and being part of my sorority, but I wasn’t there to earn an education.” She leaned across the table, placing her hand over Spike’s. “Being with you changed the way I thought about things. Before, it was fine for me to waste my parents’ money, but after being with you I started to realize that what I’m really wasting is my time.”
Spike looked surprised by her declaration. When he didn’t respond, she continued. “I’ve had a lot of time to think over the last four weeks. Do you know that I haven’t been single since I was fourteen? Isn’t that ridiculous? I’ve been in relationships, some better than others, since I was fourteen years old. I need to stop living through the guy I’m with and start being more independent.”
Spike didn’t know whether to be proud or hurt. What role would he play in her newfound independence? He pushed those thoughts aside, to be addressed at another time. Instead he smiled at her. “That sounds great, pet. What’s next?”
Buffy returned her attention to her dinner, digging in. She hadn’t felt this hungry in weeks. “Let’s save the life-altering decisions for later,” she replied, only half joking. “What’s going on back at school? Any good gossip?”
Spike smiled, happy to see the carefree Buffy he’d come to love hadn’t disappeared entirely. “As much as I hate saying his name, Angel’s been the source of a lot of talk around campus.” Buffy looked surprised. Angel had always been popular, but managed to fly under the radar. “Him and Harmony,” Spike continued gently. He knew the animosity Buffy felt towards the other blonde, and didn’t want to upset her.
“Oh, that,” Buffy replied dismissively, not even looking up from her meal. “I found out about that right before I left.”
Spike was surprised, not only that she knew, but also that she didn’t seem to care. Buffy just shrugged. “Yeah, it sucked that it was going on behind my back, but hey, not exactly the picture of morality here.” Buffy chuckled to herself. “What didn’t suck was punching Harm right in her pointy little nose.”
Spike’s eyes opened wide in shock as he let out a laugh. “You did that?”
“She was asking for it! If you ask me, that punch was long overdue,” Buffy told him, remembering how good it had felt to take the bitch down a few notches in the middle of their sorority house with many sisters watching. “She probably got a nose job out of it.”
The awkwardness between them seemed to evaporate and they spent the rest of dinner, and dessert, catching up. Spike told her about the end of his semester and the classes he’d be teaching in the spring. Buffy complained about living back home with her parents. The one subject they didn’t touch was the future and what it meant for them.
It started with a kiss. Buffy had leaned over to give Spike a chaste kiss goodnight, pulling back slowly so he could still feel her breath on his cheek. He didn’t think twice before closing the distance, assaulting her lips with his. When they had finally parted, due only to the need for oxygen, Buffy had whispered an invitation seductively in his ear.
They barely made it inside the house before Spike’s lips were on hers again. He was grateful for the privacy of a deserted house because he didn’t think they would make it all the way up to her bedroom. Never breaking the kiss, Buffy pushed him backwards towards the sitting room he’d been admiring mere hours before.
Spike unzipped the back of her dress, letting it fall to the floor. Now clad in only her panties and pumps, Buffy made fast work of disrobing him. His suit jacket was thrown to the floor, followed by his tie and belt. Kicking off his shoes as she unbuttoned his pants, Spike quickly undid the buttons on his dress shirt.
As soon as Spike had discarded his shirt and stepped out of his pants, Buffy pushed him down onto the sofa. She moved quickly to join him, straddling his waist. She reached back to remove her heels before she felt Spike stopping her.
“Leave ‘em on.”
Buffy could see the lust in his eyes and just nodded in response. Hand in her hair, Spike pulled her head down to meet his in another passionate kiss. The other hand snaked down between them, gently brushing his fingertips against her panty clad mound. Buffy sighed into his mouth as she moved her hips, letting him know she wanted more. Breaking from her mouth, his lips trailed down her neck, down her chest until he found her hardened nipple. Sucking the bud into his mouth, Spike pushed her panties aside and plunged two fingers inside her.
Buffy’s head fell back, emitting a tiny moan as his hands and mouth went to work. He was sucking so hard on her nipple that it hurt, but at the same time felt so good. His other hand was alternating between squeezing its twin and pinching her nipple. She was so close if he would just…
“Spike,” she moaned, thrusting her hips down on his fingers to increase the friction. “Please…..need…more!”
Spike smiled. His erection was painfully hard, but he wanted her to cum first from his hands alone. “I know, baby. I know what you need.” He inserted a third finger into her wet pussy while his thumb flicked over her clit. It only took a few strokes before Buffy was shuddering against him, her juices flowing over his hand.
Needing to be inside her, Spike pushed her down so that she was lying back on the sofa. He pulled down the panties that she was still wearing before crawling between her parted thighs. He couldn’t resist a taste, lapping up her sweet juices. Buffy’s hips bucked at the unexpected sensation of his tongue on her folds, and whimpered when it was gone too soon. Spike positioned himself at her opening, sliding home in one thrust. They both let out a sigh at the feeling of being joined again.
Spike moved slowly in and out of her, trying to get a hold on his impending orgasm. “Buffy…bloody hell, you feel so good! Missed you so much…”
Pulling her hips up, Spike threw her legs over his shoulders. He couldn’t hold it off any longer as he started thrusting quick and hard, each thrust hitting her sensitive clit. A chorus of moans and their bodies connecting filled the room before both cried out as their orgasms sent them over the edge.
Spike woke up the next morning to the sound of running water. Groaning sleepily, he stretched. The first thing he noticed was how sore he was. He had used muscles last night that hadn’t been used in weeks and he was definitely feeling the after effects. Not that it hadn’t been well worth it…
The second thing he noticed was that he was alone in bed. Somehow they had managed to make it up to her bedroom, neither of them wanting the housekeeper walking in on them in the sitting room. Lifting his head off the pillow, Spike looked around the room. The large room was rather bare, with boxes littering the floor. He saw a door on the far side of the room and realized Buffy must have gotten up to take a shower.
Lying back down against the pillows, Spike waited patiently until he heard the water turn off. It wasn’t long before Buffy strode out of her bathroom, clad in a short, white bathrobe. Towel drying her wet hair, she smiled when she caught him looking at her.
“Good morning.” Buffy sat on the edge of the bed next to him, leaning down to give him a kiss. Catching her before she could move away, Spike pulled her down on top of him, deepening the kiss.
Buffy pulled away when she felt two fingers slide into her. “Spike,” she whined. “I just got all clean.”
“Yes, but I’m still very dirty,” he told her, nipping at her neck.
Reluctantly, Spike released his hold on her so that she could move into a sitting position again. He gestured to the numerous boxes cluttering her room. “Four weeks and you still haven’t unpacked?” he teased her. “Don’t you have someone who could do that for you?”
The playful light that had been in Buffy’s eyes just seconds before dimmed. She lowered them from his penetrating gaze. “We should talk. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Spike sensed the seriousness in her tone and sat up against the headboard. “What is it, love?” he asked, concerned by the sudden change in her mood.
“The boxes, they’re not from school.” Buffy looked back up into his eyes, seeing his concern and confusion. “I’m leaving.”