She decided to meet with her friends on familiar territory- at her house. At least then her mother might be hovering to provide support. Spike was staying away though in case of potential fallout and because she thought it might be easier to talk about her relationship with him if he wasn’t in the room. She was absolutely certain her friends were going to bring up parallels with Angel too and she didn’t want Spike to have to sit through that.
When the time came for them to arrive though, she was growing increasingly agitated.
“Buffy, relax,” her mother told her with a soft smile, “It’ll be fine.”
“I wish Spike was here now,” she moaned.
“You’ll see him this evening.”
“If I survive this,” she muttered.
The other reason for wanting Spike around was that she missed him. She hadn’t seen him since last night – the night of the spell – and they had parted on somewhat awkward terms. It seemed that now they could actually be intimate, they had both become nervous. They had gone back to his crypt but nothing more than usual had happened – except she could finally touch him as well.
They had both been still wary though, uncertain about this new order of things, still not quite accepting that things could work out right for them. They had both suffered so much, it was hard to believe that something so good could happen to them: it was simply too good to be true. Now she was away from him though, she cursed herself for shying away when she could have him. And that was a mistake she wasn’t going to repeat.
She was interrupted in her thoughts as there came a knock at the door and she threw a panicked look at her mother as she moved to answer the door.
“Relax,” her mother mouthed to her and then opened the door, stepping back in surprise as Spike came barrelling in, covered in a ragged blanket.
“Spike!” Buffy called, getting to her feet and going to him quickly, inspecting him for burns, “What are you doing?”
“Was just out for a stroll,” he answered with a smile, one arm around her, “In the neighbourhood, you know.”
“At this time in the afternoon?” her mother asked with a teasing smile.
“Just when you know the Scoobies are coming?” she added.
“Oh, it’s that time, is it?” he asked, feigning innocence and making her and her mother laugh.
“You’re terrible,” she whispered, leaning into him.
“Well, I didn’t want to miss this,” he replied, pouting, “Thought you might want me for backup.”
“Always,” she murmured, leaning up to kiss him softly.
Another knock at the door interrupted them though and she pulled away, her former panic returning as her mother moved towards the door once more. Spike, sensing it, ran a reassuring hand over her arm and took a step away just as Joyce opened the door. Her friends greeted them all animatedly and bundled into the house, settling in the living room.
Her mother disappeared into the kitchen to prepare refreshments but gave her a reassuring look just before she went through.
“It’ll be fine,” she whispered.
She nodded and turned to Spike.
“Ready?”
“Let’s do this,” he whispered back, squeezing her hand and then releasing her.
They both went through into the living room and she settled on a chair while Spike lingered in the doorway just behind her.
“So, Buffster, what’s this about?” Xander asked, “Secret Scooby meetings.”
“New demon?” Willow asked.
“No. No demons. This is a demon-free zone.”
When Spike cleared his throat, she smiled and glanced at him.
“You don’t count.”
He rolled his eyes and she smiled, her nerves somewhat soothed just by his presence.
“So, what’s the what?” Xander exclaimed, drawing her attention back to him.
“Well, I… I know this might come as a bit of a shock, but I… I hope you understand.”
Her friends were frowning now in anticipation and she took a deep breath, turning to Spike and smiling shakily before turning back to her friends.
“Well, erm, the thing is… me and Spike are… together. Like, erm, a couple.”
She felt him step forward, hovering just at her side, silently reassuring her.
There was silence and her friends exchanged looks between them, all making her even more nervous. Then, finally, Xander spoke up.
“Is that all?” he asked, “’Coz, no offence, you guys aren’t exactly subtle.”
“We’re subtle,” she retorted defensively, “We’re perfectly subtle.”
“Yeah, I found the threatening to kill another man real subtle,” Xander quipped, eyes dancing in amusement as they focussed on Spike.
“You were slightly less than subtle,” Willow added with a sympathetic smile.
“Oh come on. They were totally obvious,” Cordelia chimed in, “I told you something was going on as soon as Angel left.”
“Well, you were a bit ahead of us there,” Buffy remarked, smiling shyly at Spike, “Took us a bit longer to get there.”
There was a moment’s silence but Xander’s voice drew her back to them.
“I hate to be the party-pooper… but aren’t you worried about a repeat?”
His gaze moved to Spike.
“Not accusing you of being like Angel, but you have to admit you’ve got the same problem he had.”
“And I personally am bored of trying to fight Buffy’s evil boyfriends,” Cordelia commented.
“Hey, singular!” Buffy protested, “One evil boyfriend.”
After she had finished, Spike answered Xander’s statement.
“S’not a problem anymore.”
“Oh God!” Willow gasped.
“Holy guacamole!” Xander added and she frowned in confusion at her friends’ shocked expressions.
It took her a moment to realise their misunderstanding and then she quickly spoke up.
“No, no. He’s still got a soul,” she reassured them and saw them instantly relax.
“Phew,” Xander got out and she smiled.
“Yep, still souled-up,” she explained.
“Permanently,” Spike added.
Willow was the first to react to this and her eyes went wide.
“Like, forever permanently?” she breathed in astonishment.
“Forever permanently,” Spike echoed, “Nothing’s gonna budge this baby.”
“So what, you’re a good guy forever now?” Cordelia asked pointedly.
“’Fraid so.”
She smiled warmly up at Spike and he moved to lean on the arm of her chair. She reached out and wrapped her hand around his arm, needing to touch him, to know that he was right there in this slightly surreal but wonderful moment with her.
“Well, congratulations, man,” Xander spoke up, still slightly dazed.
“Thanks.”
She had been most worried about Xander’s reaction and now, seeing him watching her boyfriend with awe and respect, she felt all of her nervousness dissipate.
“This calls for major celebrating,” Willow exclaimed.
“I vote for Bronze-age,” Xander added with a wide smile, “Just as long as Spike can promise not to throttle any college guys tonight!”
Spike smiled and squeezed her hand in his.
“Might be able to do that.”
As soon as the sun set, the group set out for the Bronze, the Scoobies bombarding them with questions now that the initial details had been confirmed. She answered her friends’ questions absentmindedly, her attention focussed entirely on the man beside her. And for the first time, she reached out and twined her hand in his as they walked, earning a soft smile and a return squeeze from him. Her friends, finally giving up, left them behind as they continued on their way excitedly, arguing over who had know about their secret relationship first.
She smiled at them affectionately and then turned back to her vampire.
“I can’t believe this is really happening,” she whispered.
“Me neither,” he murmured, drawing her close against him, his hand releasing hers so he could wrap his arm around her.
She snuggled into his side, leaning into him as he pressed a kiss to her hair.
“Told you not to worry, didn’t I?” he murmured, squeezing her against his side.
“You did. I guess you win.”
“And what’s my prize?” he asked in a low rumbling voice.
“Well…”
“Hey, hurry up lovebirds!” Xander called out from up ahead and they both laughed, their moment broken.
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” she said coyly and then they sped up their steps to catch up with the others.
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