Author's Chapter Notes:
sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry for how late this is--and the 4th of July one will be coming soon--I've even started it and everything, sorry

SB will be updated in about an hour :)

(explanation of this fic's title at the end)
Iontaoibh (Trust)


“Norah! Buffy called, where are you sweetie? Come on; let me know where you are so I can find Kaley!” They’d had the two dogs for a full month and Buffy was still working on ways of finding Kaley—the deaf Golden Retriever they’d gotten the day after Spike gave her Norah.

“Still haven’t gotten those dogs to listen to you?” Spike chuckled as he came in from work.

”No! Not everyone is all dog whisper-y like you, mister,” she snapped. “And why are you home anyway? I was supposed---God where are they?”

“Norah,” Spike called softly, “Come ‘ere, girl. Bring Kaley with you too.”

Buffy just huffed and stomped off to their room when not five seconds later both dogs came running down the stairs. “They were just coming to see who’d come in is all,” she rationalized. She’d just spent a good forty five minutes searching upstairs and down for the two dogs—who she was sure were playing some form of hide and seek with her and then five seconds after Spike walks in, there they are. She wished their dogs would like her at least a little bit.

“You know, them playing with you like that is their idea of fun, kitten. They’re not trying to be mean to you,” Buffy looked up from where she’d been washing her face to see Spike leaning against the bathroom doorway, his shoulder and hip against the frame as he crossed his arms over his chest. She really wished he’d stop wearing suits to work, it made him damn distracting when he got home.

“Kaley maybe,” she conceded as she toweled off her face before hanging the towel back on the bar, “I think mostly she’s just getting used to things so she follows Norah around.”

“Probably makes her feel safer,” Spike added.

“But Norah…she doesn’t want me to do anything for her, she couldn’t care less if I were here or not…but you…the second you’re home there she is. What is it about me that she doesn’t like?” Buffy hurriedly blinked back the tears that try as she might she couldn’t completely keep at bay. Spike noticed though.

“Hey now, none of that,” in just a few short strides he crossed the room and engulfed her in his arms, his hands rubbing soothing circles on her back as she tried not to cry.

“But you got me a dog and she doesn’t even like me,” Buffy’s voice was much less steady than she would have liked. “What’s wrong with me that my own dog doesn’t even like me?”

“I really think they just they’re playing with you, Buffy. I’m sure they wouldn’t keep it up if they knew it was making you feel like this”

“If they don’t like me they would.”

“But they do, pet. Come on, let’s go find them…how’s that sound? The four of us all spending some time together?”

“Sure, they’ll just stick around because you’re there,” Buffy grumbled but followed him anyway.

“Really, luv, don’t worry so much. I’m sure they’ll change right quick once they realize it,” he slung and arm around her shoulders and hugged her against his side.

“You’d better marry an incredibly unselfish woman because knowing you, your kids’ll like you better than they like her.”

Spike ignored her comment and simply reassured her again before leading her downstairs.

“Hey, how’s about we go to the parade? Norah’s an Irish Setter after all.”

”Spike…the parade was over a few hours ago. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” he truly had forgotten.

“Well, it’s Friday so neither of us has work tomorrow why don’t we go take the dogs out to the beach and find some place to stay up the coast?”

“Okay to the beach thing…but let’s just stay here maybe?” Buffy hoped she wasn’t disappointing him, “It’ll be cheaper and I kind of just want to have an at home weekend again—we’ve been gone a lot lately. And plus, the dogs’ll probably just decide I’m leaving them or something.”

“You hush about that; they’ll like you plenty, they’re just being funny about showing it.”

“Whatever you say. Now go get changed mister. If we’re going to the beach we should go soon so there’s enough light left—and I’m not going to have you frolicking around the beach in your suit.”

“Frolicking?” he asked teasingly.

“Shoo,” Buffy waved him away and went to find the dogs’ leashes and everything they would need.




“Oi! Stop trying to trip me up,” Spike scolded their dogs good naturedly as they ran around him while he attempted to carry Buffy into the house several hours later.

“Ha! They’re not being your perfect dogs for once!” Buffy gloated, giggling when Spike found he couldn’t tickle her with her thrown over his shoulder the way she was.

“Better watch it, missy; if I fall you’re going to be he one with a busted head,” he tried not to let on that he was actually slightly worried about that happening.

“Then next time don’t decide you’re going to carry me around like this when we have to hyper dogs, too.”

“Yeah, yeah, always have to point things out after the fact, don’t you?”

“I’ll have you know I told you it was a bad idea when you suggested it,” Buffy said indignantly.

“You did not,” Spike argued, “You didn’t say anything against it.”

“Well…I thought it! You distracted me with all the kissing and stuff but if I hadn’t been all distracted I would have said it, so that counts.”

“Does it now?” Spike asked mischievously.

“Of course it does,” Buffy said decidedly, happily.

“So you can think whatever you want, not say it because I’m distracting you, and it still counts as you having said it?”

“Duh,” she replied.

“Think I’m going to have to watch out for that one.”

“Uh-huh.” Buffy was in a decidedly better mood than she had been earlier in the day and Spike had definitely noticed.

“You feeling better now, kitten? Finally believe me that our dogs are just a bunch of teases and that they do love you?”

“Can we settle for ‘like a lot’?”

“For now.”

“Okay…Can you put me down soon? I’m starting to get kind of dizzy and look, you don’t even have to worry about getting tripped up, they’re going to lie down; we wore them out I think.” Buffy watched as their two dogs trotted off to their twin dog beds in the family room.

“I think I’ll put you down…but only if you answer one question for me first.”

“Fine, what is it?”

“Did I wear you out?”

“Nope, not at all,” Buffy replied, not sure why he was asking.

“Good,” Spike was smiling she just knew it.

“Hey!” she said when he kept walking and didn’t put her down, “You said you’d put me down!”

“And I will.”

“Uhm, how about now?”

“Nah, don’t think so,” Spike replied absently.

“But I’m all dizzy,” Buffy whined.

“Then it can be an experiment,” Spike explained as he started up the stairs.

“What kind of experiment?” she wondered, sounding dubious.

“The kind to find out if sex is any better with you all dizzy.” Spike had reached their bedroom by then and finally flipped her onto the bed, the change in position causing Buffy to feel like she was about to pass out.

“I say you’re mean,” she told him lazily.

“Even if I promise to make it up to you?”

“How? By letting me leave your head hanging off the bed for twenty minutes so you can almost pass out?”

“Depends on what you’re doing at the time.”

“Spike,” Buffy sighed, though she didn’t stop him from pulling her shirt over her head.

“Buffy,” Spike did his own bit of whining. “Come on, pet. It might be fun.”

“I just…”

He could tell how unsure he was and didn’t feel like pressuring her into anything. “How about we agree to stop anything that you’re not one hundred percent comfortable with?”

“I thought we already had that agreement?” she studied him closely even as he started to undress himself, leaving her to take her own pants off.

“We do, luv; always. I just felt like restating it.”

“Yeah, yeah…you just want me to be all freaky kinky girl and I’m not too sure I can do that.”

“Well I for one am pretty damn sure you can. But we only do whatever you want tonight.”

By this time Spike had joined her on the bed and was naked while Buffy only wore her bra and panties.

”Then…You were right about the dogs and I just had to trust you about that, right?”

“Right,” Spike said reluctantly.

“Then I’ll just have to trust you about this, too. Tell me what to do.”

“You mean…?”

“Whatever you want…Just give me some of the ground rules so I know what I’m doing and…You’re in charge tonight,” Buffy knew he wouldn’t ever do anything that she wouldn’t be comfortable with and would give her every opportunity to back out so she just had to trust him, that he knew what he was talking about.

“Well I was thinking that for starters we could…”



“’Kay, can we do that every Saint Patrick’s Day?” Buffy asked him at nearly three in the morning once they’d finished their ‘activities’ for the night.

“Liked it then did you?”

“Tell anyone what I did and what I liked and I’ll kill you,” she warned while blushing, “but yeah, I really did.”

“See, luv, you just have to trust me more.”

“I’m thinking every day from now on should be ‘Trust Spike Day’. Trusting you seems to lead to some fun things.

“So it’s okay we missed the parade and didn’t go out to some pub and get pissed?”

“From now on I say all of that is an acceptable Irish celebration.”

“Do you now?” Spike loved when she was so open and playful.

“Yeah…I figure if the Irish are all stereotyped as drinkers and criminals or whatever…They probably wouldn’t mind having some fun sex stuff thrown in. I wouldn’t mind being stereotyped for that one.”

“Sadly I don’t think anyone will ever stereotype you as the type of girl who would—“

“I said no telling anyone!”

“No one’s here, kitten.”

“Obviously; I know that. But you have to practice now so you don’t accidentally let it slip sometime.”

“Aye aye, captain.”

“That’s not Irish,” Buffy chided him.

“I thought we agreed what we were doing was Irish enough,” Spike never was quite able to follow her rules.

“Well, yeah, but you could still be kind of Irish.”

“Alright….let me think of something,” Spike thought for a few moments before seemingly remembering something. “Ta tu go halainn. An gabh tu tuilleadh?”

“Okay, now either that’s really Irish or you’re just teasing me.”

”It’s Irish, luv.”

“Oh. What’s it mean?”

“Basically: You are beautiful. Will you have some more?...the last one’s a bit…well it was as close as I could get.”

“I think it’ll do…and my answer’s yes by the way,” Buffy was amazed he actually knew anything in Irish. “Knowing Irish definitely deserves a reward.”

“It does?”

“Yep.”

“Then what’s ‘Beidh grá agam duit go deo na ndeor’ get me?”

“Depends on what it means.”

“I will love you forever and ever.”

“I think that one gets you lots,” she kissed him soundly on the lips before pulling back to whisper the rest against his ear, “and lots of rewards.”



THE END (well of this particular tale)


According to (several) online dictionaries iontaoibh means trust in Irish....'trust (between two people)' to be exact. (The rest of the Irish in here is from either 'Irish Phrase' sites or online dictionaries so I'm hoping it's right)





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