The door slammed and Dawn walked into the kitchen, where Buffy was standing, drinking a diet coke.
"Hey Buffy," Dawn looked around. "Isn't Spike here?" she asked. "He was earlier when I talked to him. Oh, and by the way…" She flew to her sister and hugged her tightly, conveying wordlessly how she felt about their reconciliation.
Buffy hugged her back. "Yes, he was here, but he went out to get some takeout from that little Italian place." She said. "Do you want me to catch him on his cell and get something for you too?"
"Nah, don't bother. I'm meeting Steve in an hour. We'll get something out." Dawn said. "Hey, what's this?" She pointed to the jar, in its new place on the counter.
"Oh, Spike got that. It's kind of a joke." Buffy smiled. "You know to help us apologize when we can't apologize."
"Oh, no, I knew that. I saw it when he was wrapping it up this morning. No, I meant what's inside it." Dawn clarified.
"Inside it?" Buffy opened the jar and peered in and sure enough there was a small white linen envelope. She took it out and studied it. "Huh, that wasn't there before." She opened it and read the card inside.
"Meet me at the gallery at 7. Dress for dinner. -love, Spike"
Buffy looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what this is. Two sentences and a signature. What's he up to now?"
Dawn grabbed the note. "Well, seems pretty clear to me." She looked at her watch. "You'd better hurry. It's 6:15, now."
Buffy shrugged. "Ok, maybe we're having a picnic at the gallery."
"Awwww." Dawn said. "He's in full on romance mode. So cute."
Buffy giggled. "Yeah, he is. Guess I'd better get dressed." She headed for the stairs.
When Buffy got to the gallery, the door was open, but the sign said "Closed". The windows were dark. She'd had to hurry getting dressed and she'd quickly chosen a shimmery, soft grey silk dress that hit mid-thigh that Spike hadn't seen her in before, silver heels and the black wrap she'd taken with her the night before.
She pushed the door open. 'Dark,' she thought. 'Where are you, Spike?'
As if on cue, a lighter flicked and its flame was touched to several candles, bathing the gallery in a soft, warm glow.
"Oh, there you are!" Buffy smiled. "Wow, this is great." A small round table had been set up in the center of the gallery, complete with candles, table settings and a small bunch of daisies. She laughed.
"So this is what you were doing all morning." He still hadn't said anything.
He moved towards her. "Yes. I thought we deserved a more formal reunion. Got the fighting out of the way, maybe we could progress to the making up part?" He slid his hand down her sides, enjoying the silken slide of the fabric and the feel of her body underneath.
"Maybe we could." Buffy smiled at him and leaned up to kiss him.
He held the kiss for a moment and then released her. "Food first!" He said, unveiling a plate of antipasto. "We have this. We have pasta and we have a chocolate torte to finish it." He beamed at her, obviously proud of his surprise.
"You 'done good', sir!" She giggled and sat in the chair he'd pulled out for her. "Wow, you even wore a suit. I can never get you in a suit for anything but gallery events." He was wearing a dark suit with the blue shirt she loved that matched his eyes, but the shirt was unbuttoned at the top, tieless, and the jacket hung open. 'Formally informal,' she grinned to herself.
"Yeah well, special occasion." He grumbled amiably. "Wine?"
"Please," she said.
They ate and drank and fed each other bits of the torte and all the while they talked. Buffy felt the tension of the last month slip away in the comfortable familiarity of his company. She held another glass of wine to her lips and took a sip.
"So," Spike said. "I put the note in the apology jar for a reason."
"Hey, how'd you know I'd notice the note? You could've been sitting here forever." She giggled.
Spike smirked. "I have my ways."
Buffy laughed as the realization, quite literally, dawned on her. "You had an accomplice."
She took another sip of wine.
"So there was a reason the invite was in the jar? You've done something you need to apologize for already?" Buffy asked, amused.
"Well, kind of." He pulled his chair over next to hers. "See, I meant to give you this a long time ago, but I never found the right time. So tonight I brought you here, to the business we built together, to the place your mother loved so much that if there's anywhere she's keeping tabs on, it's here." He paused and then continued."It's sort of an apology for not giving this to you sooner." As he said the word "this" he handed her a small, black velvet box.
Buffy's eyes widened as she took it. "Spike…" She started to say.
"You promised you'd listen to me, remember? Uninterrupted." He shushed her. "I'm calling that in." He paused to take a deep breath. "This isn't an engagement ring," He said and noted the faint trace of disappointment in her eyes with satisfaction. 'Well, that's a good sign, mate.' He thought. "Yet."
Buffy looked puzzled and she frowned. "Yet? What are you talking about Spike?"
He nodded and continued, "Gettin' to that. I know if I were to propose to you tonight, you'd say no." He saw her fiddle with the box nervously and she looked down at it and away from him.
"It's too fast, Spike." She said softly.
"Yeah, nine years of knowing you and of those, nearly three years of…what?" He laughed. "Hanging out and unofficially dating? How we managed to unofficially date for that long is beyond me, anyway. That's YOU, missy." He sobered again. "Yeah, so nine years aside, I knew you wouldn't be ready for that yet." He switched gears swiftly as only he could and joked, "Not sayin' I wouldn't like it if you were, figure it'd be harder to run away if you're all legally bound and such. You'd have to talk to me then!"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spike, I managed to avoid talking to you fairly successfully every day for a month while we worked side by side and you think a little piece of paper is going to help?"
She looked at him, "So, what is this, then?"
He grinned back at her. "Ah, see that, luv, that's for me-"
"I thought it was for me!"
"Hush, you." He laughed again. "That's a promise of an engagement. That's something that hopefully, you'll agree to wear…on your right hand, until a certain day arrives."
"I'm still lost." Buffy said, frowning. "What day are you talking about?"
He got suddenly serious, "Buffy, you don't need to say it now, but I do need to know it. I want you to wear that ring for me. I love you," he caressed her cheek gently, "and I'll stay with you, but I am hoping that someday soon you'll be able to say that back to me and maybe move that ring to your left hand, where it's meant to go." He looked down at the box. "Where I bought it to go. Open it."
Buffy opened the box and saw the ring that went with the other jewelry he'd given her. Her eyes filled with tears. "You've had this-" she said softly.
"I've had this since I bought the others, yeah. Matched set, had 'em made at the same time." He took it from the box.
"You've known that long?" She asked him, still teary-eyed.
"Buffy, I've known a very long time." He gazed at her earnestly. "May I put it on?"
She nodded, tears still glistening in her eyes as he slid the ring on her right hand. She clasped his hands in hers and leaned over to kiss him, at first softly and slowly, then hungrily, hands sliding underneath his suit jacket.
He slid his one hand up her smooth thigh, relishing the soft satin of her skin under his fingertips, far more pleasing to the touch than silk she wore. His other hand found the zipper at her back and drew it down slowly and he lifted the delicate dress over her head. She stood before him in nothing but two scraps of fragile white lace.
He stared at her for a moment, as she stood against the backdrop of the paintings, their brilliant colors muted, becoming something softer and more intimate in the flickering light. Candlelight shimmered in her hair and eyes and danced over the slender curves of her body. His Buffy...
She put her hands on her hips. "Hello! Standing here almost naked, while you're not!"
Spike laughed. That was his Buffy too. "You're beautiful, luv. I like to look at you." He shrugged out of his jacket and let it fall to the floor.
She was already nimbly unbuttoning his shirt. "Off." She tugged at it, smiling. He complied.
They'd ended up on one of the couches that flanked the walls. He bent his head and licked the salty sheen on her collarbone, trailing kisses along it and up her neck, reveling in the taste of her. He thought perhaps he liked her best this way, hair mussed, lips swollen, skin shining; Buffy with all of her defensive walls down, open and relaxed.
Her eyes widened suddenly. "Hope Mom wasn't watching that!" She laughed, reddening at the thought. "I missed you. I missed this," she said quietly.
"I'm glad you took the ring, luv," he whispered in her ear.
"It's beautiful. I love-" she hesitated, "the ring."
"Yeah," he murmured, "I know you do," he bit her lower lip gently and resumed kissing her.
Two Weeks Later:
Spike sat, relaxed, at a table at the Bronze, sipping a beer and waiting for Buffy to get back from the dance floor where she was dancing with Willow, Tara and Anya. Things were back to normal. Life was good and he was content.
"Hey, Spike," Melanie said, appearing on his left and leaning on the back of the chair next to him. "What's up?" She smiled, "Hope everything went ok that night. It didn't look too good. Everyone live?"
"No, pet, it wasn't." Spike chuckled. "Much better now, though, thanks. Yeah, no casualties. Things are sorted for the most part."
A hand fell on Spike's shoulder, pressing just a little harder than was usual for a casual gesture. "Hello." Buffy said coolly, but the look she gave Melanie was anything but. "This seat's taken." She said as she sat down again next to Spike, placing her left hand very visibly on the table. The ring there sparkled obediently even in the low lighting. Spike froze, and then looked at her out of the corner of his eye, raising his eyebrow. "Sorry." Buffy smiled sunnily at the other girl.
Melanie shot a grin at Spike and put her hands up in the classic gesture of surrender, "Hey, totally understood. Message received." She smiled again at Spike a little sadly. "Glad things worked out for you after all." She waved. "See you around," and walked off into the throng around the dance floor.
"Not if I can help it," Buffy muttered.
Spike probably should've remained prudently silent but he said soothingly, "Luv, she's just a friend."
"Not anymore, she isn't!" Buffy proclaimed defiantly with a pointed look.
Spike's grin widened and he drew her into his arms and onto his lap. "But she's the only one who can beat me at playstation, pet," he teased. "Where will I go for a good challenge?"
She snorted. "Not to her! That's for sure. Anyway," her eyebrows furrowed in thought, "I can beat you any day, just lead me to the game, give me a little time to learn it and you're a dead man!"
"You're on." He nuzzled her neck affectionately. "So, seat still taken even though you aren't using it now? You got over here from the dance floor pretty fast. You must be really fond of it. Must be extra comfy."
"You're taken. I love you." Buffy replied seriously, staring into his eyes. "You're mine."
He stared at her a moment, another broad smile emerging slowly, "Yeah...I am," He purred at her, "and isn't that just…neat." Then he kissed her.
The End
End Note: Well, that’s the end of my first Spuffy story. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. I had fun writing it. I hope you don’t find the ending too abrupt. In my head, this is always where it ended. It began at the bar and ended at the bar. You might think Buffy’s a little annoying for waiting to accept his engagement until Melanie came along but well, she just needed that final shove, I guess. We all know she’s been in love with him forever anyway!
If an idea ever pops up, there may be a sequel. Dru’s still out there ticked off and crazy, but I didn’t want the story to languish unfinished while I waited to see, as I’m always sad when ones I’m reading stay in that state. Besides, this one was more about their relationship with each other (even though they spent most of the story apart!) and with Dawn and not so much about external big drama (well, other than how Dru’s actions affected them) and I kind of liked leaving it that way.
Regarding the love scene, I’m sorry. I tried, I really did, all weekend to write it, but I just ended up getting more ideas for my other fic and the scene never went anywhere. So, I copped out and faded out and back in again. At least there’s no lack of that available in other stories. There are so many people who are quite good at writing smut without it resulting in unintended giggles for the readers. I am not currently one of those people! I’ll go back through and figure out what this should be rated so people aren’t misled in the future. I think all I have to warn about is language, not sure if that’s 15 or still 17 or what. Maybe there’s a ratings FAQ somewhere.
Thanks for all of the encouraging reviews and wonderful feedback. It’s very much appreciated and it gave me such fun to read them and know people were caring about the characters.
-Jane