[Reviews - 122]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1483 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
I am so sorry for the extreme delay here. Real life came up and kicked my ass this past week and I just had absolutely no free time. Don't worry, everything is back to normal now and the chapters should be coming in more regularly again.

Anyway...

You guys are nothing short of awesome. I'm glad everyone enjoyed that citrus sweet I left you at the end of the last chapter. Thanks again to my faithful reviewers, as well as a few new ones.

Also, I am looking for a beta reader. If anyone is interested please let me know.
Chapter 14.

Buffy awoke the next morning still wrapped in her lover's arms. Their legs were entwined intricately and one strong arm was wrapped around her waist from behind her. She rolled over slowly, trying not to wake him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Morning, luv." He said in a gruff whisper. So much for the brilliant let-Spike-sleep plan.

"Morning." She responded in a tired whisper of her own.

He pulled her closer in to his chest and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "How'd you sleep?"

She laughed softly. "I had a dream that Willow and I kidnapped you and Oz and wouldn't let you leave for the tour. We tied you to the beds in our dorm."

"The one kind of false imprisonment I truly wouldn't mind." He chuckled. "Did Bob still go?"

"I'm not sure." She answered. "I remember him trying to sell Willow a hotdog, but that's about it."

"Yeah," Spike said, "sounds like something Bob would do."

They sat in silence for a few moments with their eyes still shut, both enjoying what they knew would be their last morning together for quite some time. Just thinking about it made him feel sick, he had no idea how he was going to make it through saying goodbye to her at the airport. He was secretly very grateful that Willow would be going through the situation with her, at least she wouldn't be alone. Seeing the moment as right, and knowing there probably wouldn't be another one before he had to leave, he rolled over and grabbed something out of the drawer of his nightstand.

Feeling his motion she opened her eyes slowly, rubbing away the sleep that still lingered in them before fixing her gaze on his still naked form. He sat near the edge of the bed, the sheet laying lazily over his lower body and he held a small box in his hands. It was wrapped in shiny black paper with a large red bow in the corner. She sat up in the bed slowly, wrapping the sheet around her body to keep up some small bit of modesty. She tilted her head slightly to the side and watched as his fingers nervously fiddled with the box.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I have something for you." He said as he handed the box to her.

Buffy took the box in to her hands and unwrapped it quickly. She opened the red jewelery box inside and gasped at what she saw. It was a beautiful silver necklace with a small diamond resting on what almost looked to be a silver ribbon.

"It's not much," he said quietly, "but I wanted you to have something to remember me by."

Buffy couldn't help the tears that welled up in her eyes as he spoke. "It's beautiful." She said.

A genuine smile lit his features as he watched her reaction to his gift. He'd hoped that she would like it, that she would wear it while he was gone and remember just how special she was to him, and by the look on her face and the unshed tears in her eyes he believed his mission was accomplished.

Her eyes flashed up from the necklace and met with his own. "Can you put it on me?" She asked.

His smile widened. "Of course, luv. Turn around." She did as she was told and he gently pulled the necklace from its packaging before handing it back to her. She moved her hair away from the back of her neck and he clasped the necklace with ease. He grabbed a small mirror off of the bedside table and handed it over to her.

She looked at the necklace in the mirror, it was perfect. The chain was just long enough for it to fall just above her breasts and the pendant was large enough to be seen, but small enough to not be overwhelming. "I love it, Spike, I'll never take it off." She said quietly.

He smiled as he placed a gentle kiss on the exposed flesh on the back of her neck, the small gesture sending shivers down her spine. "There's more." He whispered.

Her eyes flashed over to his in the small mirror, a look of surprise on her face. "More?"

He nodded, resting his chin on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her and reaching for the box that she had been balancing on her knee. He took it in his hands and removed the packaging that lined the bottom of the box and threw it off to the side exposing the key hidden beneath it.

"That," he practically whispered in to her ear, "is a key to my apartment."

Buffy stared at the piece of metal in the box with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes for the second time this morning. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," he said, "just take it and know that you can come here whenever you want. I need someone to keep an eye on this place and you don't need to be taking a bus home from work at two in the morning."

She turned around in a flash and without any warning her lips were on his in a heated kiss. Spike placed a hand on the small of her back and pushed himself forward, laying her down softly on the pillows beneath her. It was times like these when sleeping naked really had its advantages.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Almost ten." He answered before his lips met her's again.

"When's your flight?" She asked.

"Boards at two," he answered, "we've still got some time."

"Time enough for you to give me a proper goodbye?" She asked as she lifted her hips to rub against the erection already stirring between his legs.

"Aw, baby," he said reaching a hand behind her knee and hiking it up and around his body, "there's always time for that."

000000000000

Faith rolled off of Bob and landed on the mattress beneath them with a soft thud. "Haven't had a ride like that in I don't know how long."

Bob smirked, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Don't start getting all cocky on me now," she said with a smile, "I said you were good, I didn't say you were that good." Faith stood and made quick work of finding her bra and underwear next to the bed. She could feel Bob's eyes on her as she began to slip them on to her body.

"Where are you going?" Bob asked, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Home." She answered as she pulled her shirt over her head.

"But, I, ya know," Bob said quickly, "I was hoping we would..."

"What?" Faith said with a laugh as she pulled on her jeans. "Spend the day together? Take a walk along the beach?"

"No, but..."

"Look, Bobby, this was fun and all, but that's all it's gonna be." She said as she put on her shoes. "I'm not the relationship type of girl. I do what I want and I'm not in to being tied down."

"Neither am I." Bob said quickly.

"Then what did you think this was gonna be?" Faith asked glancing back at him.

"Well I was hoping a little more than a one time thing." He said.

Faith's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Bob sighed, wrapping the sheet around his waist and moving toward her. "I was thinking that, you know, whenever I'm in town we could..." He made a circular motion with his arms and leaving it for her to fill in the blanks.

"Oh," Faith said pulling her hair up in to a messy ponytail, "I guess we could do that."

Bob's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Faith nodded, a slow smile making its way on to her lips. "Yeah."

"Good," he said with a smile, "now get out of my apartment."

000000000000

"And then she just left and yeah." Bob said as he sat with his bandmate's and their girlfriends in terminal 7 of the airport.

"This is Faith we're talking about here," Xander said from his spot next to Anya, "this is as close to a relationship I've ever heard of her getting involved in. Usually it's just a hit and run kind of thing. Hit it and quit it, on to the next one."

Bob sat back in the chair, folding his arms behind his head with a sly smile on his face. "See that? You guys aren't the only ones with chicks waiting to bone you when you get home."

"Must you be so entirely vulgar all the time?" Giles asked from his seat across from him.

"Just keeping it real, Rupe." Bob answered.

"Well I think it's neat." Anya said proudly.

"Thank you, Anya!" Bob said happily.

"You're welcome." She answered with a short nod.

Spike shook his head in slight disbelief before looking over at the seat next to him. Buffy sat with her left leg slung over the right one with one hand in her lap and the fingers of the other one laced with his. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and she looked over without missing a beat. He cocked his head to the side and pointed with his eyes to the far corner of the terminal. She nodded and the two stood and made their way to the bench lining the large window overlooking the runway.

Spike had been determined to have one last moment alone with her, but now he was at a complete loss as to what to say. They stood across from one another as he held both of her hands in his. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife as the butterflies in his stomach reached new levels with every passing minute. Neither knew what to say to the other in this very important moment in their relationship and, truthfully, strong enough words didn't exist to convey the wide range of emotions they were feeling.

Buffy focused her eyes directly at their joined hands. "This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be." She said softly. "I knew it was going to be hard, but not this hard."

He nodded slowly. "I know."

Mustering up a little bit of courage, Buffy raised her eyes to meet his. She could already feel the familiar sting of unshed tears welling up in her eyes and she was hell bent on holding them inside until he left, he didn't need the added burden of seeing her cry. "Are you going to call me when you land?" She asked.

"Of course, luv," he said, "tonight and every other."

She nodded and looked away quickly, blinking rapidly and trying to buy herself a few more dry eyed moments. Spike's arms were around her in an instant and that was all it took for a few to fall and begin their trail down her cheeks. He held her close, one hand on the back of her head and the other lightly caressing the small of her back.

"Please, luv, don't cry," he soothed, "I'll be back before you even have the time to miss me."

She let out a bitter laugh. "I miss you already and you haven't even left yet."

He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I know."

"Now boarding flight 147 to New York."

Spike sighed before whispering. "That's my cue."

Buffy nodded as she pulled away slowly. "Oh no," she said with a laugh, "I got your shirt all wet."

Spike chuckled. "No worries, pet, just taking a little bit of you with me." With a hand on each side of her face, he pulled her to him and gently caressed her lips with his own. The kiss wasn't as heated as most of the ones they shared had been, but the passion in the sadness behind it was enough to make her head spin. He pulled away slowly but kept his lips close to hers, quietly speaking against them. "Promise me you'll never forget me, because if I thought you would I'd never leave."

Buffy cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed in confusion as her eyes met his again. "I've heard that somewhere before."

He smiled and knew he had been caught. "A.A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh."

She laughed as her lips met his again. "I could never forget you, Spike."

He pulled away and looked directly in to her eyes again, a look of mock seriousness on his face. "Don't go falling for any other rock stars while I'm gone."

"Yeah, you either!" She retorted quickly.

"Trust me, baby," he said quietly, "these eyes are for you and you alone." He lowered his lips to hers in one last kiss before grabbing his carry on bag and making his way to the terminal door. Buffy watched as he handed the attendant his ticket before taking the last few steps in to the doorway. Just as the door was closing she saw him turn, kiss his hand, and make a throwing motion in her general direction. Feeling more lame than she had in her entire life, she acted as if she'd caught it and both laughed softly as the doors to the walkway closed.

As she walked with her friends back out of the airport, her phone vibrated quietly in her pocket. She pulled it out and opened it to read the text that she had just received.

From Spike:

This isn't goodbye, it's see you later.

000000000000

The first half of the car ride back to Roth was made in almost complete silence. Buffy and Willow were each in their own worlds and Xander was solely focused on skillfully weaving through the downtown traffic. He had offered to take them out to eat after they had left the airport, but neither of the girls were really feeling up for it. Willow had made plans to grade some papers for one of their teachers, something Buffy saw as a distraction from what she must be feeling, and Buffy just wanted to get back to their room.

"So, Xander," Willow said in an attempt to break the silence, "you and Anya seemed pretty snuggly wuggly back there."

Buffy smiled as she looked at him from the front passenger seat. "I noticed that, too. What's that all about?"

"Nothing." He answered a little too quickly.

"Well, that is obviously less than the truth." Willow said laughingly.

"Yeah, come on, Xan!" Buffy said. "We're your best friends! You have to tell us!"

"Alright fine." He said. "We may have kissed a few times."

"And?" Both girls asked in unison.

"And, well, maybe a little more a few other times."

"How much more?" Buffy asked.

Xander didn't answer, he merely glanced over at her in a way that told her everything she needed to know.

"Oh, my God!" Buffy and Willow screamed together again.

"You and Anya?" Willow asked in a sort of happy shock.

"All of my friends are getting with Passions members, I must be some kind of trendsetter." Buffy commented.

"Yeah, maybe we can set Giles up with Joyce!"

"Xander!" Buffy yelled.

"What? I'm just saying the man needs a little love, too." He explained.

"With my mother?" She asked.

"Sure," he shrugged, "why not?"

"She's married!" Willow answered.

"Oh, since when does that matter in Hollywood?"

000000000000

True to his word, Spike had called Buffy the second he had gotten things settled in New York. The bus had apparently not arrived yet and they had gotten a couple of rooms in a hotel. Everyone else had decided to go out that night and grab some food at some restaurant that Buffy had never heard of before, but Spike had elected to stay behind. He said that he was tired from the flight and the lack of sleep from the night before, but honestly he just wanted a night to himself and to call his girl. The conversation was nothing groundbreaking or exciting, but it was all they had for the time being.

The next morning Buffy and Willow went about their normal routine just like any other day. They got ready for their classes, left the dorms together, and stopped in the same coffee shop they always had. It was strange, they had each had a few weeks of living in such a different lifestyle and now everything that was once so normal to them seemed so... not.

The tiny bell on the coffee house door rang, effectively gaining Buffy's attention and pulling her out of her own head. She looked over to see who had come inside and immediately felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. Standing not even ten feet away from her were Angel and Dru. She turned back to the counter quickly but she knew it was only a matter of seconds before he would approach her.

"We can leave if you want, Buff." Willow whispered.

She shook her head. "No, I am not running away from him like a dog with it's tail between it's legs. We'll get our drinks and then keep walking to class just like we do every other day."

"Okay."

They sat in uncomfortable silence and tension for a few moments before, just as Buffy had expected, Angel made his way over to them after pulling a chair out for Dru and instructing her to hold their table. "Buffy, just the person I wanted to see."

Buffy took a deep breath but otherwise made no sign of paying him a speck of attention. Regardless of her obviously ignoring him, he continued as if she had welcomed him in to a conversation with open arms.

"Talked to Harmony yesterday," he continued, "she said that she hasn't seen Spike Pratt around the dorms lately. What happened, did you guys split up?"

"No," she answered flatly, "the guys left for New York yesterday to start off their tour. Spike and I are just fine, we're very happy and he'll be back in about a month."

Angel scoffed loudly, the way he always did when he heard something that he deemed stupid. It was a sound that Buffy had become quite accustomed to when they had been dating. "Yeah, sure he will. Anyway, I talked to my lawyer the other day and we're planning to go all the way with the lawsuit. He seems to think any judge in the area would love to make an example of him, show that even celebrities have to follow the law."

"Awesome." Buffy nodded slowly as she tucked both of her lips inside her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was give him any type of satisfaction from getting to her.

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about that too much, though." He said. Chances are you won't even be around to see the end of it."

"Oh, yeah?" Buffy asked in the same monotonous tone as the barista handed over the drinks that Willow had ordered for the two of them. Willow handed hers over and she took a long drink hoping that it would keep her from losing her cool.

"Yeah," he answered, "you'll never keep his attention for that long."

Buffy laughed softly as she moved the drink away from her lips. "And what, pray tell, makes you so sure of that?"

"For starters," he said as he dipped his finger in to the drink, "you couldn't even keep mine and all you had to worry about were other girls on campus. He's going to be gone for months at a time, all over the world, with tons of different kinds of fun throwing themselves at him." He licked his finger clean of the liquid and whipped cream mixture he had taken from her. "That's pretty good."

Buffy cocked her head to the side, a sickeningly sweet smile gracing her lips. "You like it?" She asked.

Angel's brows furrowed as he chuckled softly at her abrupt change of attitude. "I do."

Her smile widened as she glanced back down at the drink, tucking her hair behind her ear before looking back up at him with a far too kind look in her eyes. "You can have it." Without even giving him the chance to realize what she was doing, she tossed the contents of her drink in his direction, effectively soaking him in the hot liquid.

"What the hell?" He screamed as he jumped back, trying in vain to wipe the mess off of his clothes with his bare hands as Dru jumped up from the table and rushed over to him.

"Fuck you, Angel." Just to add insult to injury, she threw the empty cup at him as she and Willow walked swiftly out of the coffee house doors.

000000000000

"I left a diagram on the board that I didn't quite get to finish explaining last time," Buffy's Chemistry professor said as he pointed to the board, "I'm going to save that for the end of today if we have time. Anyway, today I want to talk about atoms."

Buffy was hardly paying attention and secretly regretted even attempting classes today. Her mind was a million miles away and absolutely nothing was sticking with her. She couldn't stop thinking about what Angel had said to her in the coffee shop. What if he was right? What if he did get bored waiting for her? What if in a drunken stupor out with the guys he decided to take on some random chick he met at a show? She knew she was just beating a dead horse, but who in their right mind wouldn't be worried?

"Are you sure that's her?" She heard a feminine voice ask from behind her.

"Yes, I'm sure," Harmony's unmistakeable whispering answered, "she lives in my building and he was there with her like all the time."

"And you're sure they broke up?" The first voice asked.

"She was in her room last night by herself crying, what else could have happened?" Harmony asked.

"Maybe she was just having a bad day. I mean, you cried when you got a stain on your baby blue halter."

"That was different!" Harmony snapped back. "Besides, why would he stay with her anyway? She's so plain and ordinary. A guy like that needs a girl that will do anything for him, including go with him on tour."

"Do you think that's why they split up?"

"Probably," Harmony said, "I mean, he must be loaded. Who in their right mind would actually stay in school when they have a boyfriend who can support them? They have to have broken up."

Buffy couldn't take it anymore. Without wanting to hear another word she gathered her things and practically fled from the classroom with not even a passing glance at the gossiping girls behind her. She didn't know where she was going, not consciously anyway, but the next thing she knew she was boarding a bus heading to the one place that still had a little bit of him left in it.

000000000000

"Hey, it's me." She said in to her phone as she walked out of the elevator. She had really wanted to talk to him but of course she had gotten the machine. "I know you're probably busy right now, but I just really wanted to talk to you. Um, just call me back when you get the chance. Bye."

She put the key in to the lock and she opened the door with no effort whatsoever. She had no idea what had brought her here, how her subconscious had made such a rash decision without her even being aware of it, but as she walked inside and her eyes moved over the room she knew it was the right one.

Everything was exactly the same as it had been the last morning that she had woken up next to him. The pillow she had thrown at him on the way out still sat lazily on the floor by the door, the pack of tasty cakes he had taken one from still sat open on the kitchen counter and the DVD box for X-Men was sitting on top of the television.

She closed the door behind her and made her way toward his room. The bed was still unmade and the socks he had been wearing were thrown on the floor next to it. Almost unthinkingly she removed her shoes and climbed inside, pulling the covers around her and laying her head on the pillow he would have normally used.

Within a matter of minutes she was fast asleep.

000000000000

Buffy was awoken a few hours later by the feeling of her phone vibrating repeatedly in her pocket. She glanced over at the clock on his nightstand and was surprised to see that it was going on seven already. She grabbed the phone from her pocket, a little disappointed by the name she saw flash across the screen.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey Buffy, it's Clem." His voice rang loudly from the phone.

"Hey." She answered as she attempted to smooth out her no doubt unruly hair.

"I was wondering if you would be able to come in tonight and cover for Cordelia. She has that stomach flu that's going around and can't make it." He explained.

Buffy rolled her eyes, Cordelia didn't have the stomach flu. She had told her just last week about the concert that she was undoubtedly going to tonight. Typically this would have been more aggravating to her, she never called out unless she was practically on her death bed, but what else was she going to do tonight?

"Sure, what time should I be there?"

000000000000

It was a particularly slow night at The Shadow Gallery and Buffy was currently standing behind the bar just waiting for her one and only table to need something. Her head was resting on her hand and she had pulled one of the stools up to the bar to sit on. Truth be told she wasn't in the best of moods, she had gone through a particularly rough past twenty four hours and she just couldn't wait for the night to be over. Faith and Riley were the only other two working and Clem had decided that it was the perfect night for catching up on some paperwork.

What made it worse was the fact that she hadn't heard from Spike all day. He had promised he'd call her every night but here it was, the first one past his promise, and not even a single text. She understood that he was probably busy but was a single thirty second phone call or measly 'hello' text too much to ask?

She saw motion out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Riley tossing a bottle of Jack Daniels in the air. She watched him spin around quickly and catch the bottle behind his back before slamming it on the bar and pouring a quick shot. He smiled as he looked over his handiwork, a small shot with a very big build up, before glancing over at her.

"Pretty cool, huh?" He asked.

Buffy nodded slowly, but didn't say a single word.

Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked her over. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She lied. He coked an eyebrow at her, obviously not buying it. "What?"

"You." He said taking the few steps needed to reach her. "You're not yourself tonight, what's up?"

She sighed. "Spike left yesterday."

He rested his elbows on the bar and leaned forward. "Left as in..."

"Went on tour," she said, "he won't be back for a month."

"Well," Riley said slowly, "that's got to be difficult."

Buffy nodded. "There are all these rumors going around and everywhere I go people are whispering about it."

"They're nosy," Riley said, "it's just how people are. I'll admit, I was a little curious about the two of you and I'm not even in to the band or whatever. I just have the sense to not bother you with it."

"Thank God for that." She practically whispered.

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Just don't let them get to you."

"It's hard not to." She said.

"I know," he replied, "but they're all just jealous. I mean, hell, even I'm a little jealous of the two of you."

Buffy's brows furrowed as she looked at him in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yeah!" He said. "Who wouldn't be? Girls look at you and see this lucky girl who is dating a man that they look up to as some sort of God," he explained, "and every guy is looking at him wondering how he got so lucky to have a girl like you."

Buffy laughed. "Oh, come on. I'm really not that special."

"Are you kidding me?" Riley asked. "You're smart, pretty, funny, and you can take care of yourself. What's not to love?"

Picking this to be the right moment, her phone began to buzz in a way that alerted her to a call. She extracted it from her pocket and felt her heart speed up the moment she saw the five letter name on the screen. She glanced back at Riley and noticed that he had been looking over her shoulder. She would have said something about it but she really didn't want to miss his call. "Would you mind watching my table for a few minutes?"

"Sure, go for it." He said with a smile.

Buffy practically ran out from behind the bar and made her way outside to the employee lot. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hello, luv." His voice said from the speaker.

"About time you called." She played it off as if it were a joke, but in reality she was a little bit upset.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." He said quietly. "The bus finally showed up today and then I had a couple of interviews to take care of. Haven't really had a moment to myself since this morning."

"Not even enough time to send a text?" She asked.

Spike wasn't stupid, he could hear the way she said it and knew that she was upset with him. If the situation had been reversed he'd have been peeved, too. "Listen, Buff, I know your a little sore at me right now and you have every right to be. I should have called earlier but every time I tried something would come up. It's the first day of tour, ducks, we're all just really busy."

She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, pushing her long hair away from her face. "I know, I'm sorry. It's really not your fault that I'm in this mood and I'm taking it out on you."

"I got your message, is everything alright?" He asked, his concern was evident even through the phone.

"Yeah," she said, "just a bad day."

"Tell me about it, pet." He responded softly.

"There's just a bunch of know it all's running around spreading rumors and stuff. Harmony and her little clique have been telling everyone that we broke up." She explained. "And then to top it all off I ran in to Angel and Dru at the coffee shop."

She could hear him shift his position on whatever he was sitting on. "How'd that go?"

"I threw my drink at my him."

That was all it took for Spike to completely lose himself in laughter. Buffy couldn't help the smile that formed on her face as she thought back to the look on his face when she had done it. It was a cross between a deer in headlights and a child about to have a temper tantrum. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing along with him and instead took the silent route of just shaking her head at her own antics.

"Sorry, pet, but that's the best news I've heard all day." He said as he finally managed to control himself.

"Well, he started running his mouth about us and then he had the nerve to shove his finger in the whipped cream. He'd already ruined it by that point so I figured I'd let him finish the thing." She said quickly.

"Felt good, didn't it?" He asked.

She laughed softly. "It did."

"That's my girl!" He said happily. "I've never been more proud of anyone in my life, I must have rubbed off on you."

"You've done more than that to me." She said without thinking.

"Now don't start that now, luv." He said in mock anger. "I've got to go on in a few minutes and the last thing I need is to be distracted by the thought of you and me going for a rough and tumble."

Buffy laughed softly. "Yeah, I'm at work, too. Not exactly the best place to be having one of those conversations."

There were a few seconds of silence before he spoke again, the lightheartedness of the conversation slowly dissipating and a slight overcast of seriousness taking its place. "I miss you."

Buffy smiled sadly to herself. "I miss you, too."

"You've been on my mind all day, can't stop thinking about you." He said with an edge of sadness in his voice.

"I know, I'm in the same boat." She replied in a similar fashion.

"I've got to bring you out here with me, kitten, you'd love it." He said. "I'll have to wait until we go somewhere good, maybe Vegas or Atlantic city. You have a passport?"

"Uh huh," she responded, "I went to Cancun with my parents when I was eighteen and had to get one."

"Good," he said, "that means I can take you to London with me."

"I've always wanted to go there!" She said excitedly. "Willow and I almost went last year but it was just too expensive."

"Anywhere you want to go, luv, I'll take you there. All you've got to do is say the word." She heard someone in the background give them their five minute warning and knew that her time talking with him was over for now. "Listen, babe, I've got to go. Call me when you get home, alright?"

"Okay," she said, "have fun."

"Always do. Talk to you later, luv."

The line promptly went dead and Buffy shoved her phone back in to her pocket before heading back inside. She looked over at the bar and was thrilled when she saw Xander and Willow sitting there talking with Riley. With a smile on her face and a skip in her step, she made her way up to her friends.

000000000000

Spike sat his phone on the shelf of his bunk and made his way back out in the cool night air of New York City. As usual everyone else was standing between the two buses smoking and talking the way old friends would. The stage hands and roadies were all moving things in and out of the venue as they set up for Flesh of the Passions to take the stage. Spike walked up and joined the group as he grabbed a beer from one of the large coolers.

"How's Buffy?" Darla asked. He could tell immediately that she was about half past buzzed and was on the threshold of flat out drunk. He knew drunk Darla pretty well and knew that the rest of the night would be full of surprises thanks to her.

"She's fine," he answered as he popped the lid off of his beer, "just had one hell of a day."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, people being cunts spreading rumors that we split." He took a swig of his beer. "Then she threw a drink at her ex."

"Good for her!" Darla exclaimed.

Spike took a swig from his bottle as he nodded in agreement. "I'm just worried about her."

"Why's that?" Darla asked.

"It's just gonna be really hard on her, you know? What if she decides she wants something else? What if she finds better?" He took another quick swig from the bottle. "I mean, fuck, she deserves better."

Darla put and arm around Spike's shoulders and gave him a quick squeeze. "Listen Spikey boy, I've met the girl once and I could tell how smitten the little thing is with you. Trust me, she's not going anywhere. Us girls can tell."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah, and don't you do anything stupid either! You fuck this up and there will be a ton of other people ready and willing to fill your spot." She said releasing him and taking a step away.

Spike gave her a crooked smile. "You first on that list?"

"Not really my usual type, but I'm pretty far up there." She explained as she grabbed the beer from his hand and claimed it as her own. "Now Oz's girl on the other hand..."

"Darla." Spike warned.

"Oh, come on! That girl definitely has a little bit of curiosity in her and I'd just to be the one to bring it out of her." She explained in full seriousness.

"Leave her be, Dar." Spike said as he began to make his way over to the door.

"Oz doesn't even know I'm gay! It would be perfect!"

000000000000


Chapter End Notes:
Not entirely sure if I'm 100% happy with it, but please review and let me know how you felt. Kind of a set up chapter for where the story is going.

Love!



You must login (register) to review.