They landed in a heap in the middle of the Magic Box much to the surprise of The Scoobies seated around a table covered in books. Buffy groaned from the middle of the heap. “I think someone is kneeing me in the liver.”
“Boo hoo, Slayer. Someone’s prodding me in my manly bits.”
“Sorry, Spike.” came Hermione’s voice.
Giles cleared his throat. “Giles?” Buffy struggled to sit up, pushing various legs and arms
off of herself. When her eyes met those of her newly reinstated Watcher’s she grinned. She wrested her way out of the pile and threw herself into his arms. “I missed you so much!” Giles hugged her back, smiling to himself.
“We were all so glad when you were okay, Buffy.” He answered. Buffy then hugged all of her friends in turn, saving Dawn for last so they could hug the longest.
“I’m so glad your home Buffy.” Dawn whispered. “Giles has been staying at the house and
he is so strict. He’s worse than mom.” The sisters laughed.
“Tell me about it,” Buffy answered. “I’ve had to take it from him for years.”
“Yes, though I must say, Dawn actually listens to me.” Giles commented.
“What are you guys all doing here anyway? It’s like, two in the morning here, isn’t it?” Buffy looked around herself for a clock.
“Giles insisted that we waited for you.” Anya answered. “I didn’t see why it was necessary when I could be at home receiving orgasms but he insisted. But I’m glad we’re here now since you brought potential customers and or shoplifters.” She eyed the group of unkown teenagers who had finally gotten to their feet behind her.
“There was a slight problem.” Buffy then gave them a rundown of what had happened at Hogwarts before they made their escape. “So they’re spending Christmas with us until we hear otherwise. They’re gonna shack up at Casa de Summers.”
“It’ll be like a slumber party.” Dawn said happily. She waved at the group and smiled. Hermione and Ginny waved back with large smile on their faces. Dawn seemed very nice and
bubbly to them.
Spike lit a cigarette, thus announcing that he was a little insulted at not being addressed yet. “Hey! Put that out!” Anya walked up to him and snatched it from between his lips.
“Oi! It’s hard to find smokes in wizard land you bint.” He looked around at the faces looking at him, and saw that only Buffy and Dawn were smiling at him. “Hey there Niblet.” He greeted the girl. She squealed and ran to him, hugging him.
“Spike, it has been so boring here without you around. And by the way, thanks for saving my life before you left!” Spike hugged Dawn and stroked her hair.
“Your sister would have kicked my arse bloody if I hadn’t. ‘Sides, since it was you I wanted to do it.” Dawn grinned at Spike’s response. “Now, Dawn, let me introduce you to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George. Be nice.” Spike then looked at the boys of the group. “And you all…hands off.” He growled to emphasize his point. Buffy laughed and shook her head.
“And aside from Dawn, this is Giles, Anya, Xander, Willow, and Tara. They’ll be around a lot, so I’m sure you’ll get to know them a bit before you get back home. Whenever that’s going to be.” Buffy turned to the Scoobies. “So what’s with all the books? Is there major research? Sunnydale acting all Hellmouth-y again?”
“Not really, we were just kind of bored waiting for you.” Willow replied.
“So you decided to bore yourselves even more?”
Xander laughed. “Now that’s what I said.” He picked up a comic book from the nearest book.
Shortly thereafter, Buffy, Spike, Dawn, and Giles led the visitors back to the Summers’ home. The other Scoobies made their way home, promising to come over later in the day for Christmas presents and food.
It took a while to get everyone a place to sleep, but with Giles saying that it would be nice to stay at his flat for once, it worked out. Hermione, Ginny, and Dawn were going to share Dawn’s room. Fred and George were going to share the master bedroom that Giles usually used. Harry and Ron were going to sleep in the living room on the couches.
Though they were still on Hogwarts time, everyone was very tired by three thirty in the morning as all the adrenaline was wearing off. Everyone was in their separate corners of the house, getting ready to hit the sack. Spike and Buffy were in the kitchen, Spike warming a mug of blood.
“I wonder if that’s a routine thing for Hogwarts.” Buffy mused.
“Don’t think so, pet.” Spike replied. “McGonagall looked right surprised and brassed off when she saw them. Hogwarts is supposed to be a safe haven of sorts.”
“We could ask Hermione tomorrow.” Buffy watched Spike as he savored his first taste of the blood. “She quotes that book all the time. The everything you wanted to know and everything that you didn’t about Hogwarts book. She would know.” Spike nodded. He tried to draw out finishing his mug of blood, knowing that it would be time for him to leave after he was finished. It would be light in no time and he didn’t fancy running around underneath a blanket.
“Better be going then.” He said, putting his mug in the sink.
“Oh.” Buffy looked at her hands. She had thought that Spike might stay there.
“See you when the sun is at a little less deadly of a height again.” He said with a smirk.
“I thought that you were going to stay.” Buffy blurted out. She would have been so mad with herself if she had just let him walk out.
“Wot?” Spike cocked his head to one side, something that Buffy adored absolutely.
“I. Thought. That. You. Might. Stay.” Buffy grinned a little wider with each over exaggerated pause. “I mean, if you want. I wasn’t going to kick you out.”
“Where?” Buffy looked puzzled and Spike half wanted to use her own obnoxious method against her. “Where am I going to sleep? The basement?” He nodded his head towards the door that led downstairs. Buffy looked at the basement door.
“If you want, but I thought that you might stay with me. In my room. The curtains are thick and I promise you won’t get crispy.” Buffy could hardly meet his eyes while she said it, but when she did, she met orbs with a firey intensity. It made her hot in the stomach.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” She answered, her gaze not leaving his.
“Let’s go then, pet.” Spike wrapped his fingers in Buffy’s and led her to her room. Buffy watched Spike as he drew the curtains, taking extra care in making sure that they overlapped and he wouldn’t wake up on fire. He had woken up on fire before and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience that he could remember.
Buffy stood before her bureau, debating on whether she should change in front of spike or not. But then she began to think more about what Spike intended on wearing to bed. She didn’t know if he ever wore anything to bed in the first place, not to mention that they had left in such a hurry they didn’t bring any of their luggage home.
“Don’ worry, pet. I won’t make you blush. ‘ve slept in jeans before.” Spike said, as though reading her thoughts, while pulling his t-shirt over his head. “Though, of course if you find jeans too scratchy.” Spike leered at her, tucking his tongue behind his teeth.
“I think the jeans will be staying on.” She replied, trying hard to not blush at the way he looked at her. “Now…please turn around so I can put my pajamas on.” Spike raised an eyebrow but stayed uncharacteristically silent as he turned his back. Buffy didn’t notice as she hastily changed that he was playing with a mirror, all the better to see her with. She didn’t even question when he knew to turn around.
Buffy stood facing the half naked vampire, trying to not stare at him too obviously and wondering if she should just crawl into bed, or what. Why was this so difficult?
Spike tool the initiative and rolled down the bedding, slipping underneath easily and holding them up for her entrance. She slid in easily and molded herself again him. Spike thought that it felt like a heaven that he shouldn’t have been able to touch. It was better than that time that she had kissed him. It was an action purely of her desire and not as a reward for being a good doggie.
He reveled in the feel of this golden girl in her cotton pajamas against him, and he draped an arm around her. It was perfect. No other word could do it justice but that. Perfect.
They didn’t speak at all, each too lost in the feelings created by the other. Buffy wrapped up in her thoughts. But eventually Buffy drifted to sleep and once Spike was sure that she was safely in dreamland, he kissed her cheek and closed his own eyes.
By the time that Buffy awoke the next morning, she could tell that the house around her was in full wing. She snuggled closer to the warm embrace of the dozing man beside her, delighted that she had warmed him throughout the night. It felt good to wake up with him. She didn’t understand why she ever thought that something like this with Spike could be bad or wrong. Her friends were dumb, she thought with a smile. They just didn’t know. Especially when there was such a sweet rumbling coming from his chest.
Buffy turned in his arms and looked at his sleeping face. He was angelic. Every hard edge of his face sharpened in slumber, every façade collapsed and unguarded. It was a breathtaking sight to behold.
She knew that beneath the slightly creased eyelids were miraculous orbs that never missed the deepest secret hidden in her soul. She was beginning to suspect that he might even know her better than she knew herself, which wasn’t such a bad thing since he wasn’t trying to kill her anymore.
Spike shifted slightly in his sleep, tightening his hold on her. His eyelashes splayed against his cheek, and they looked so black on his white skin. The contrast seemed to be the very embodiment of the man himself. He was supposed to be evil. Supposed to be. But Buffy knew now, he hadn’t been evil for a very long time, if there had ever been a time when he was truly evil at all.
A knock at the door broke Buffy from her rather blissful fog. Spike stirred and his brow furrowed. The door cracked open and Buffy smiled at her younger sister peeking her head through. “Merry Christmas, Niblet.” Spoke the sleeping form of Spike. Except he was apparently no longer sleeping. His eyes were still closed and the only palpable change in his appearance was the smile now on his lips.
“Merry Christmas guys!” Dawn entered the room and let out a tiny squeal of glee. “I’m so glad that you’re home.” Spike sat up in bed so that he could receive Dawn’s hug of greeting. “And this,” she looked between her sister and the blonde vampire “is pretty much one of the best Christmas gifts I think that I’m getting.”
Buffy and Spike looked at each other. Buffy smiled at him, causing him to smile back. Dawn squealed again.
“But anyway, everyone’s already here since it’s like, noon. The others are all awake and we’re all just waiting on you, you lazy bones. We wanna open presents!” Buffy giggled at her sister- the girl who was always trying to be so much more grown up- regressing into a four year old because it was Christmas morning.
“What presents, though? We had to leave all of our things at Hogwarts.” Buffy said, a hint of apology in her voice.
“And yet, like magic, presents appeared here this morning. Almost like magic.” And Dawn left the pair in bed, with a silly giggle and a grin on her face. Spike looked at Buffy.
“Like magic.” He shook his head.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
i know....i suck. it's been forever and maybe a day and then like an hour and a half since i last updated. but don't give up on me cause i'm not giving up on the story. i've never had to juggle two jobs, a boyfriend, and a social life before. it's hard. but i hope you enjoy, i hope you keep on reading, and i hope that you keep on leaving reviews.