Shocked by Buffy’s reaction, Spike furrowed his brow and scrutinized the wide-eyed blonde and said, “Well, luv, according to the marriage license in m’car, not so ridiculous it seems.” Pushing out of the uncomfortable arm chair, he sauntered closer to Buffy; keeping his pace nice and slow as to not startle her again. As he rounded the cheaply designed metal workstation, trailing one finger slowly across the cold desktop, Spike took in the distress and confusion in her liquid emerald gaze and asked, “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t remember our nuptials, pet? Was I truly that unmemorable?”
Chewing on her bottom lip, Buffy allowed herself to sink into the awaiting chair and nervously twisted the skull shaped ring on her left hand; finally putting two and two together. Images of Elvis burned in her memory, laughter and novelty rings exchanged as they fell back onto the plush seats of the limousine. “Mr. Buffy?” She asked timidly, gazing up at Spike behind moistened eyelashes, a tiny smile emerging at the usage of the special name she had given Spike between a barrage of passion filled kisses.
“Yes, Mrs. Spike?” Spike replied saucily, pleased that Buffy was taking the news so well. Staring down at her, he took in her saddened eyes and worried expression that covered up the hint of happiness that barely flickered across her lovely face. Dropping to his knees in front of her, Spike placed a hand on her reddened cheeks and whispered, “Don’t cry, luv…there’s nothing to be upset about.” Leaning forward, he placed a feather light kiss to the tip of her adorably cute button nose, pulling back when her body began to shake with uncontrollable sobs. “Wha’s the matter?”
“What’s the m-matter?!” Buffy cried out between gulps of air as she desperately tried to push the tears away. Wiping her eyes furiously, she stammered, “I was suppose…to…to…get m-married with my f-family and f-friends there and…and in a p-pretty place with flowers and NO Elvis…and not be all drunk!” Sniffling loudly, Buffy face flushed a brighter red when her sobs turned to hiccups and ducked her head to hide her embarrassment; twisting the ring furiously.
At a loss for words, an occurrence that was a rarity in Spike’s life, he stared down at her hands and realized what she was toying with. Reaching out, he took her tiny hand in his and chuckled; quickly sobering to explain his laughter at Buffy’s furious gaze, “‘s not exactly what one would consider the perfect way to represent unending devotion, yeah?” Spike asked rhetorically, fingering the cheaply designed skull shaped ring. “Guess the first order of business will be to buy you an appropriate wedding ring, kitten.”
“You want to buy me a wedding ring?” Buffy inquired; a puzzled look on her face. Furrowing her brow with confusion, a trait that Spike was quickly becoming enamored with, she mustered up the courage to ask, “Why would you want to do that? I mean, don’t you want to have this…annulled or something? You’re a handsome man. Sexy Celebrity and whatnot, you could have any woman you wanted.”
“That’s why I’ve chosen you, Buffy.” Spike replied with a husky voice, deepened with lust and longing for the blonde vixen perched in front of him. Their eyes connected, hers a swirling vortex of jade colored emotion that penetrated his cerulean pools of desire to the core leaving him panting and full of yearning to experience the pleasures of her flesh once again. Hypnotized by her nearness and engulfed in the scent of strawberries and sunshine, Spike leaned forward and closed his eyes in anticipation of drowning in her embrace.
Buffy’s heart was jack hammering in her chest, thumping so loudly that the sound echoed in her ears and she was sure that Spike could not only sense her nervousness, but hear it as well. Throat clenched with anticipation, mouth dry with a heady combination of fear and desire, her eyes drifted shut as her body leaned forward as if by its own volition; driven by the need to feel his lips upon hers once again. Her senses were filled with the innate maleness of Spike, a stimulating combination of musk, leather and cigarettes. Mind swirling with longing and passion, her fingers clasped tightly around his forearms, fingernails digging into just hard enough to no doubt leave a smattering of crescent shaped indentions. Although her eyes were wrenched shut, Buffy could sense the moment his lips neared hers; his breath warm against her skin. Panting lightly, she parted her lips slightly; moaning with pleasure as his lips brushed against hers teasingly. Whimpering softly at the lack of contact, Buffy scooted forward in search of pleasure, only to be jerked back to reality at the sound of someone entering the silent room.
“Sorry I’m late, Buffy! Oh!” Willow announced loudly, screeching to a halt with her jaw dropped in surprise. “Hey! What’s he doing here? I thought we hated him?”
Cocking his eyebrow, Spike stood up quickly and asked, “And why would she mad at me, Red? I’m fairly certain I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Because Buffy was all cranky and teary when she left you and wouldn’t talk, that’s why. She’d have to be pretty upset not to tell her best friend what went wrong. What did you do to her anyway?” Willow demanded, glaring at Spike most intimidating face and squaring up to the actor with her hands on her hips. Her temper instantly flamed higher when the peroxide blonde’s face broke into a smile and erupted in a fit of laughter. “What!?”
“Um…yeah. Wills you might want to sit down first.” Buffy suggested, scooting her chair back a little bit to stand up, she graciously accepted Spike’s offered hand before doing so. Smiling giddily at him, she turned back to her confused best friend, who was refusing to sit down as recommended, and calmly stated, “I wasn’t mad at Spike the other morning, I was…embarrassed, to say the least. I was on this fantastic date with Spike of all people and I ended up getting sloshed and forgetting the whole thing. When I woke up, I panicked and skedaddled out of his room, not wanting to risk further shame by doing the morning after chat. So, you see? I was ashamed of my behavior, not Spike’s. From what I can recall, he was the perfect gentleman all night.”
“Ok, so you were all Red-faced Buffy, got it. But, that doesn’t explain why he’s here now.” Willow replied with her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she turned to regard Spike directly. “Was your ego bruised that much that you felt the need to track her down or what?”
“I like you, Red.” Spike chuckled good-naturedly. Reaching out, he wrapped his arm around Buffy’s shoulder and pulled her close. “So, kitten, you want to spread the good news or shall I?”
“Guess that’d be up to me, huh? Willow being my friend and all.” Buffy concluded, taking a deep breath and preparing herself mentally for the bombshell she was about to drop. Holding her left hand out with an enthusiastic smile plastered across her face, she brightly announced, “We got married!”
As predicted, Willow’s jaw dropped faster than a piano tossed over a balcony, leaving her mouth gaped open in shock as she remained frozen in place and blankly stared at the blondes grinning at her like a pair of mental patients. Finally, she managed to pull herself together and gather her wits, looking the picture of perfect calm, before startling Buffy and Spike by screaming, “YOU GOT MARRIED?!”
“Who got married?” Someone asked from the doorway, following up with a, “Miss Summers, did you get married?”
Leaning to the side, to see around Willow, Buffy’s eyes widened when she found a wide eyed student hovering in the doorway. “Doesn’t anyone knock around here?” She muttered, stepping away from Spike’s side.
“I knocked, pet.” He replied snarkily, earning a glare from Buffy before she stepped around the desk and approached the lanky brunette teenager.
“No, Amanda…no one got married. You must have heard wrong.” She stated calmly, “Is there something you needed? Our meeting isn’t scheduled until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Oh, yeah…I know, but I wanted to tell you that I got my letter from Har-Oh My God! Miss Summers, do you know who is in your office? Spike Thorne is right there!” Amanda shrieked loudly, a level of noise only a teenage girl could achieve. Before anyone of the adults in the room could tell the excited girl to calm down and lower her voice, she darted out of the room while screeching, “I so have to go tell Janice!”
“Oh, this is so very much not of the good.” Buffy announced with a grim tone to her voice, “Do either of you know how bad that was?”
“You guys need to vamoose! Like quickly, before she makes it to the lunch room.” Willow jumped into action, closing and locking the office door to ensure no one else wandered in while they were busy with the escape plan.
“Come on, now. Can’t be all that bad, yeah?” Spike asked, seriously wondering how a town as small as Sunnydale could host a school that held enough girls to pose a problem. “’s just goin’ to be a few birds, nothin’ to get our knickers in a knot about.”
“A few birds? I’m just going to assume you’re talking about a girl; which means you have no idea how volatile teenage girls can be.” Buffy informed him, “You do realize you’re standing in the Mecca of teenage civilization, right? Just down the hallway, like less than a hundred yards from here, there is a very large amount of hormone crazed, Spike Thorne obsessed girls on the edge of womanhood that will mob you like a swarm of flies on a mid-summer picnic. If word gets out that you are here, you are royally screwed with only me and Willow for bodyguards.”
“Right then, pet…what’s the plan?” Spike conceded, instantly regretting his decision when she turned her gaze away from him and looked towards the window at the back of the office. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“It’s the only viable exit strategy. If you go out the front door, you have to pass the north entrance to the cafeteria; which we decided you need to not be. It can’t be that bad, you shimmy out and skedaddle to your car and wait for me.” Feeling very smart by her quickly made decision, Buffy smiled brightly and started ushering Spike towards the window.
“Uh-huh, you’re sure this isn’t a brilliant scheme for you to ditch me again?” Spike grumbled, eyeballing the smallish window with barely contained disgust.
Blushing, Buffy had the decency to look ashamed by her previous abandonment and said, “Yeah, ok…I deserved that. Now out, Mister! We don’t have much time.” As if to punctuate the urgency in her warning, the sound of a herd of hormonal teenage girls could be heard in the hallway. “Oh crap!”
“Looks like you’re going to be using this escape hatch with me, kitten.” Spike replied smugly as he slid out the opened window and landed on the ground with a thump. Turning back to face Buffy, he held out his arms and said, “Hurry up, not much time left before they attack.”
“But I can’t crawl through the window! Have you seen what I have on today? There is no way I can maneuver myself through there in this skirt!” Buffy cried in panic.
“Buffy, figure it out! They’re right outside the door. I don’t think I can hold them off by myself.” Willow informed them, leaning against the wooden door in attempts to keep them from breaking it down as if her petite frame could hold off the flock.
“Fine, but if I rip my skirt…” Buffy muttered, leaving the threat off her comment as she squatted down and perched on the windowsill as delicately as possible before wiggling through the opening into Spike’s outstretched arms. “My hero.” She joked as he held onto her while she slid to the ground.
“Anytime, kitten, anytime. Now, where’s your car?”
“I don’t drive.” Buffy informed him with a sheepish grin, “Not so great behind the wheel. Mind if I hitch a ride with you? You did drive here, right?”
“No, luv…I teleported myself.” Spike replied, taking her hand he tugged her in the direction of the car he rented at the airport. “Come on, you’re chariot waits.”
As they hurried towards the parking lot, a frantic Willow calmed herself down enough to open the door and greet the teenagers that had gathered en masse on the other side of the office door. At their puzzled expressions, she asked, “May I help you ladies with something?”
“Where’s Spike?” Several of the girls shouted, their hopeful expressions making Willow feel about an inch tall for hiding their idol from them.
“Yeah, I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but there’s no one but me here. See?” Stepping to the side, Willow allowed them to peek inside Buffy’s office to see that she wasn’t lying to them. Satisfied that they were satisfied, she stepped out of the counselor’s office and announced, “I’m pretty sure you all have somewhere else to be.” Giving them her best Teacher-face, Willow watched as they disappeared down the hallway with dejected looks on their pretty faces before heading towards her own classroom.
A short car ride later, the newlyweds were sitting awkwardly on the cranberry colored couch in Buffy’s living room. The carefree mood they had worked up to had been seriously ruined after Willow and Amanda’s untimely arrival, and then further wrecked by the hordes of female students that had befallen her office afterwards.
“So…” Buffy muttered, leaving the sentence hanging since she didn’t know what to say. “Um…you want anything to drink?”
“No thanks, pet. I’m fine.” Spike replied, cocking his head to study Buffy and wondered why she was so nervous all of the sudden. “You all right?”
“Yeah, I mean…I don’t know. I guess it’s just really setting in that we’re married, maybe?” Buffy admitted, looking down at the child’s toy that was meant to be her wedding ring. “Did you really mean that you want to stay married?”
Sliding off the couch, Spike positioned himself on his knees in front of Buffy and held her shaking hands in his. “Buffy, I know it seems crazy when I say that I do want to be married to you. We barely know one another and yet, there’s something about you that draws me in. If there’s any chance that this could work out, that you are the one that I am supposed to be with…then I don’t want to ruin it by giving up too soon.
“I’m thirty-two years old and have only been in one serious relationship, which in the end, it turned out that I was the only one invested in. After that, I was too hurt and angry to trust another soul with my heart, which has led to nothing but loneliness. M’not going to lie to you, princess…I’ve spent years filling that void with random women, an act that I’m not proud of and has gotten me absolutely nowhere. I’m tired of being that man, I want to be better…I want to be happy and loved and most of all, be with you.” Spike spilled his guts, laying it all on the line as he tried to prove to Buffy that he really and truly wanted to be with her. As he gazed into her worried eyes, his were filled with need and shining with hope, he thought that maybe it wasn’t enough, that she wasn’t going to accept his plea to stay together.
“This is seriously insane. You realize that, right?” Buffy finally said, her voice wobbling with her nervousness. “We’re going to get decent rings, please tell me I don’t actually have to wear a skull ring forever?”
Relief washed over him as what seemed like the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders. Chuckling, he leaned back enough to reach inside his jeans pocket and pulled out what he had stuffed in there that morning. “New rings will be the first item on the agenda since mine doesn’t fit.” Holding his hand out, he showed her the small piece of bright blue plastic before slipping it on his pinkie finger. “See? Blasted thing barely fits on m’pinkie finger.”
“Is that a decoder ring?” Buffy managed to ask between giggles. The sight of one of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities on his knees in her living room wearing a child’s secret decoder ring and professing his need to stay married to her, it was just too surreal.
“I know you aren’t laughing at me, little girl.” Spike all but growled as he shot forward to tickle her ribs mercilessly. In a matter of seconds, he was lying on the couch next to her and had Buffy huffing and puffing, red-faced with laughter and begging for him to stop. Stilling his hands, but keeping them firmly planted on against her sides, Spike watched as she tried to calm her breathing; chest heaving to strained against the silken material of her shirt, her nipples hardened and poked forward to tease him and her breathless pants had his cock straining painfully against the cold metal of his pants zipper. Leaning down, he took her by surprise and captured her lips in a passionate embrace.
Moaning against the soft skin of his lips, Buffy’s mind swirled with desire and her body ached longing and lust as his hands slipped beneath her shirt and her flesh seared with heat upon first contact. Wiggling beneath his form, she reached down to pull her skirt up to allow Spike to settle between her legs; pressing his hardened desire against her aching center, sending streaks of burning fire through her body.
Time was lost as their embrace deepened, their hands groping furiously as they desperately tried to remove their clothing without losing contact with one another. Buffy’s skirt was bunched around her waist and her shirt was unbuttoned and her breasts were proudly on display after Spike had pushed aside the lace material that covered them to suckle the rosy flesh that was peaked with desire. Spike’s shirt had been shed long ago, allowing Buffy to savor the feel of his muscles rippling beneath her touch, his skillfully gelled hair was loosened and tousled from her fingers grasping and running through the soft strands.
Buffy reached between them and frantically began struggling with the shiny silver buckle of his black leather belt, desperate to feel him buried inside her heated body. Tugging unsuccessfully at the offending garment, her hands too shaky to accomplish the otherwise simple task of removing a belt, Buffy groaned in frustration and was about to make Spike take it off himself when the sound of the doorbell ringing shrilly disturbed their make out session.
“Pretend you’re not here.” Spike breathed into her ear as he nibbled along the tender flesh in attempts to distract her from the sudden visitor. “Stay with me, kitten.”
“I’m not leaving you, but I really need to answer that.” Buffy finagled her way out of his strong hold, adjusted her clothes and somehow managed to not cave in and crawl back onto the couch and Spike’s very convincing pout. “That’s not fair.”
“Don’t bloody play fair.” Spike retorted, reaching out in attempts to grab hold of Buffy and drag her back down onto him.
“Behave.” She swatted at his hand playfully and danced out of his grasp, laughing as she stumbled over to the door. Checking once more to make sure she was decent, Buffy pulled open the door and exclaimed, “Riley!”