"Home, sweet home." Spike said as he opened the front door to his apartment. He walked inside, multiple bags and suitcases hanging from his arms, as Buffy struggled with her suitcase a few paces behind. When he noticed her epic battle through the hallway he dropped his bags and moved to help her and was surprised when he realized just how heavy her bag was. "Christ, Buff, this thing weighs more than you do."
"Us Summers women really know how to pack." She said as she followed him in to the apartment.
"No doubt about that." He said while dragging her bag across the floor and in to his room. "You mind living out of a suitcase until we leave or do you want to do all that unpacking shit?"
"I think I can manage for a few days." She said as she closed the door behind her.
"You hungry?" Spike asked as he made his way in to the kitchen.
"Starving, actually." Buffy admitted.
Spike opened up his refrigerator to see nothing but an old jug of apple juice and a few boxes of take out that were definitely past their prime. "Nothing in the fridge," he called over the island, "wanna go grocery shopping?"
"Only if we stop for cheeseburgers first." She answered quickly.
Spike chuckled softly as he ran a hand through his platinum hair. "That's my girl."
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"Grab some granola bars." Buffy said as she followed behind Spike pushing the large shopping cart they were using to collect whatever food they wanted.
"Granola bars?" He asked.
Buffy nodded. "The ones with the cranberries in them are awesome."
Spike chuckled as he tossed the granola bars in to the cart. They would only be at the apartment for a couple days but they were getting enough food to feed a small army. He knew he was buying far too much, but he didn't care. He was having the best time just roaming through the isles with his girl and nothing was going to bring him down. Things like this gave him the feeling of normalcy that his life desperately craved and he could just kiss her for it.
"What about lunch meat and all that jazz?" He asked.
"I worked in a deli when I was eighteen," she said, "I haven't been able to eat lunch met since."
"It can't be that bad."
"You'd be surprised." She said with a slight shudder.
Spike laughed. "Right then, no deli's for you."
They continued down the isles laughing together over almost anything and throwing whatever caught their eyes in to the seemingly bottomless shopping cart. The last thing they expected to see was Harmony Kendall. The moment she saw her Buffy turned and pushed the cart, and Spike, backwards in to the isle they had just been down.
"What's all this?" Spike asked as he was practically slammed in to the shelf housing a million types of peanut butter.
"Harmony," Buffy whispered, "she's in the next isle over."
Spike stepped around his girlfriend and made his way to peer around the corner. Sure enough Boobjob McGee was standing in the middle of the isle staring intently at the rows of shampoo that lined the last isle of the large store. He turned around and walked back over to Buffy. "Do you trust me?"
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Buffy asked with a furrowed brow.
Spike smirked as he quickly glanced over to where Harmony would be standing on the other side of the shelf. "I think it's time we have a little fun at little old Harmony's expense."
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Harmony stood in the middle of the isle trying to decide between Suave or Herbal Essences shampoo. They both seemed exactly the same but there had to be some reason why the latter was more expensive, right? As she pondered her decision she heard the sound of footsteps coming toward her. Typically she would have just ignored them but when she saw the bleached blonde hair out of the corner of her eye she turned in an instant.
"Spike Pratt?" She asked as she peered over at him.
He glanced over at her. "Hey Harmony." He said quickly before turning back to the shelf.
Curiosity got the better of her and she couldn't help but try and figure out what he was trying to find. When she noticed that he was standing in front of the pregnancy tests, however, her jaw dropped in surprise. Spike had been watching her out of the corner of his eye and when he saw her reaction he had to use all of his willpower to stay in character and not laugh out loud.
He pulled two boxes off of the shelf and turned back to the shocked blonde next to him. "What do you think? Do I splurge and get the 'Pregnant' and 'Not Pregnant' test or just stick with the classic blue and red?"
"Is... is that for-"
"Buffy, yeah." He said never taking his eyes off of the two boxes.
"You think Buffy is pregnant?" Harmony asked in shock.
"Well, yeah," Spike said as he finally met her eyes, "we've been married for a few weeks now and have been shagging like rabbits. It's only natural, yeah?"
"Married?" Harmony screeched.
Spike smiled as he raised his left hand which held the Claddagh ring he had gone ahead and turned backwards. "Yeah, tied the knot on the thirteenth and couldn't be happier." He looked back at the boxes and quickly made his fake decision. "Colors. Thanks for the help, Harm, I'll let Buffy know you said hello."
"But I-"
"See you around."
With that Spike left the isle and the completely bewildered Harmony behind and went back to his dream girl. That should teach her to stick her nose where it doesn't belong.
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"And she just stood there?" Willow asked through her laughter.
Spike nodded. "She was completely in shock. Don't know if it was over the entire marriage thing or the baby, but that look was priceless."
"Aren't you worried she's going to leak it to the press?" Xander asked.
Spike shrugged. "If she does, oh well. It's not like anyone's gonna believe her. You know how many women have claimed that I married them and swear that they are carrying my child?"
"I can remember at least five." Bob said from across the room.
"Anya does such a good job that as soon as we get wind of the rumors they're put to the dirt." Spike explained as he sat his hand on Buffy's jean clad knee.
The night was going great and everyone was having a wonderful time at Xander's place. She hadn't gotten to see or really talk to her friends while she was at home and their reunions were always a fun time. Willow's parents had decided to spend their Hanukkah in Cancun and left Willow with nothing to do. Since Xander didn't have any family other than Clem to speak of he had welcomed her with open arms to stay with him for as long as she liked. When Oz had shown up at his door much the same way that Spike had, Xander pushed back the feelings of jealousy and was simply happy for his friend. Oz had taken her to his apartment and they had spent the last few days doing whatever it was that the two of them did together.
Buffy wasn't going to pry about what had happened between Bob and Faith, God knew she was going to hear all the juicy details about it at work one day anyway, but the two seemed a little more comfortable with each other tonight. Faith was usually the kind of girl who didn't want any kind of PDA, whether it was because it made her feel uncomfortable or a little too girly Buffy wasn't sure, but tonight she actually let Bob put his arm around her and she had caught him give her a quick kiss on the cheek out of the corner of her eye earlier in the night.
Everyone sat around the living room eating the pizza that had become ritualistic for the After Christmas Party they had every year while either talking softly or playing along with whatever random game show was on the television screen. When the doorbell rang everyone had a pretty good idea of who was on the other side of it and they all gave a silent prayer to whoever was listening that the latest arrival wouldn't ruin the good nature of the night.
Xander walked over to the front door of his apartment and opened it quickly before jumping out in to the hallway. Riley looked at him with a bit of confusion decorating his face as he took in Xander's strange body language. "You alright, Xan?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." Xander said as he pulled the door closed behind him.
Riley chuckled. "Are you going to let me in or are we going to have our own party out in the hallway?"
"Uh, yeah, about that," Xander started nervously, "Buffy's here."
Riley nodded slowly. "I figured she would be."
"Well, she brought a certain guest along with her." Xander explained. "Actually, I invited him but to be honest I didn't really think you were up for coming after the conversation you and Buffy had."
"Buffy and I are fine," Riley said defensively, "we're still friends and I'm pretty sure I can handle her boyfriend for one night."
Xander gave him a sideways look. "Are you sure?" He asked.
Riley sighed. "If me being here is going to be this much trouble I'll just leave."
"No, don't leave," Xander said quickly, "but just don't start anything, okay?"
Riley nodded and Xander promptly opened the door. He half expected everyone in the room to be staring at him but what he got was the complete opposite. The entire room was seemingly fixated on the TV while a game of Jeopardy was glowing across the screen.
"This zombie butler on 'The Addams Family' often played the harpsichord."
"Lurch!" The entire room cried in unison. When one of the contestants on the show buzzed in and shared their answer, all six at home participants cheered.
"Riley's here!" Xander yelled as he entered the room.
Almost everyone in the room turned and smiled as they gave some type of greeting, Buffy on the other hand leaned over and whispered in to her boyfriend's ear. "It's just one night. Play nice for one night."
Spike turned his head toward her and gave her his characteristic smirk. "If I'm a good boy do I get a treat?" He asked seductively.
Buffy laughed softly as she leaned in a little bit further. "I'm sure we can work something out." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before retreating back to her own side of the couch. She didn't miss when Spike put an arm possessively over her shoulders but as long as that was as far as his show of dominance went she wasn't going to complain.
"Hey Riley." Buffy said with a sweet smile.
Riley glanced over at her and gave her a quick smile in return. "I see you finally got that cast off."
Buffy smiled as she raised her now plaster-less hand and wiggled her fingers. Spike smirked to himself when he realized that her little move would also give him a perfect view of her new ring. "I'm as good as new."
"You're just in time for presents!" Willow said excitedly as she clicked the TV off. The rest of the room groaned but when they all saw her moving toward the tree to claim the duty of present distributor their outrage quickly dissolved.
"The first one is for Buffy from me and Oz." Willow said as she passed the box she held in her hand over to her best friend.
Buffy took it with a smile and went to work tearing away the cute menorah wrapping paper. When she saw the Chanel box inside she couldn't help the smile that jumped on to her face. She opened the box carefully and looked inside to find a pair of brand new Chanel sunglasses. They were black and the tint was almost as dark as the frames and faded to a dark purple as they went down. They were big enough to cover a lot of her face, but not so large that they were ridiculous.
"Remember when we told you that sunglasses were going to be your new best friend?" Willow asked.
Buffy glanced over at her and nodded. "Yeah, after our first group trip to the hospital."
The entire room laughed softly.
"Well now you've got a new best friend from your old best friend." Willow said with a quick nod.
Buffy laughed as she got up to hug Willow and Oz. "Thank you guys, I love them. They're going to look great with that leather jacket Spike got me."
Willow gave her another smile as she sat back down on the floor and picked up the next present. The exchanges went well and everyone seemed happy with their gifts. Oz loved the caricature of himself as Oz Skywalker and Bob was overjoyed to get an empty hamster cage and a gift certificate to Pets Mart seeing as he had been begging for a bus pet for as long as they could remember. When it came down to Riley's present for Buffy everyone was just a little bit concerned, but when both Buffy and Willow were presented with $50 gift cards to Target the tension in the room disappeared quickly. Buffy had gotten him a blue polo and Spike seemed only mildly irritated when she mentioned that she thought it would be a good color on him. Bob had came in for the kill when he commented that the blue of the shirt almost matched Spike's eyes.
Everything went fine throughout the rest of the night and Buffy considered herself lucky to not be involved in some ridiculous fight over the love triangle she had unwittingly found herself in. Maybe the conversation she had had with Riley at the bar had worked, maybe Spike's punch to Riley's nose was the end of their altercations, and maybe pigs would fly out of Bob's ass.
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Buffy awoke the next morning with nothing beside her but an empty bed. She frowned slightly as she sat up and looked around the vacant room. "Spike?" She called quietly. When there was no response she pulled the covers off of her and slowly stood up from the large bed. She stretched her neck out as she walked out of the room and was surprised by what she saw in the living room.
Spike was sitting on the living room couch, naked from the waist up. with Emily in her rightful place across his lap and in his hands. His back was turned to her but even from behind she could see and hear his strumming away on the chords of his new guitar. He had a pair of large headphones covering his ear and Buffy could see that they were plugged in to the small amp that sat on the floor next to the couch. Just as she was about to make her presence known she heard him softly begin to sing.
You might lose your faith in science,
You might lose your faith in wealth.
You might lose your faith in Jesus,
Or lose faith in yourself.
But when I let you down,
Look past your doubt,
Just please, please,
Don't lose your faith in me.
Buffy took a few steps closer as she listened intently to a song she had never heard him sing before.
You could lose your faith in music,
Or lose your faith in friends.
You could lose your faith in freedom,
Feel trapped in your own skin.
But I'll be right there beside you,
When the walls are cavin' in.
I swear, oh, I'm not going anywhere.
But when I let you down,
Look past your doubt,
Just please, please,
Don't lose your faith in me.
Please, please,
Don't lose your faith in me.
Buffy put her hand on Spike's shoulder and he gave a startled jump. He turned around quickly and was obviously a little more than surprised to see her standing behind the couch. He pulled the headphones off of his head and promptly tossed them back on top of the amp.
"Did I scare you?" Buffy asked with a gentle laugh.
"A little bit." He answered as his hands shot out and quickly grabbed her by the arms before pulling her over the back of the sofa.
Buffy laughed gleefully as she tumbled over the piece of furniture and landed softly within his strong arms as he wrapped them snugly around her. "What were you singing?" She asked curiously.
"New song." He answered. "Wrote it a while back when I was touring."
"What's it about?" She asked innocently.
"Oh, nothing really," he said aloofly, "just this pretty little girl that was having a bad time with all the Debbie Downers she was forced to be around."
Buffy smiled as she let her hand find his cheek before leading his face closer to hers. When their lips met he couldn't help but blow a raspberry against her face. Buffy shrieked as she tried to push him away from her but it all proved to be to no avail as he continued to make that ridiculous noise all the way down her neck. "Are you twelve?" She asked through her involuntary laughter at the situation.
"Ten, actually." He said as he repeated his action against her jugular. "And this just so happens to be my favorite thing to do." When Spike's phone went off with the ringtone he used specifically for the record company, Anya, and Giles, he quickly sat up to check what was going on and Buffy saw his brow knit together as he read the text he had just received.
"Is everything alright?" Buffy asked as she sat up next to him.
"Looks like I have an interview at the MTV studios today." He said as he typed in a quick reply.
"Oh." Buffy said with a little bit of disappointment. "Well I could just take a bus over to Xander's and hang out with him for a while."
"Bugger that," he said as he sat his phone back down on the table, "I'll just take you with me."
Buffy's eyes widened as his words reached her ears. "Are you serious?"
Spike shrugged. "Why not? It'll be good for you to see the horrors and torture I've got to go through."
Buffy thought for a moment, she had never been to a TV studio before and had always been curious about the behind the scenes stuff. "Okay," she said, "I'll go."
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"We're here today with Spike Pratt from Flesh of the Passions." The show's host, Allie, said as the camera panned in on Spike's face. Buffy was watching comfortably from the director's chair backstage that had been meant for Spike and was happy as a clam. The studio audience clapped and cheered and Spike gave a slight nod of appreciation. "How are you doing today, Spike?"
"Great, thanks." He answered.
"How was your Christmas?" Allie asked.
"Wonderful," he said, "spent a few days with my girl and her family in Sunnydale."
"Sunnydale," Allie repeated, "that's kind of a random place for someone like you."
Spike chuckled. "She was home and I got off tour a few days early so I decided to surprise her, yeah? Show up at the front door with some flowers, really impress the folks." The audience laughed slightly and Buffy couldn't help but smile. He was so good with interviews, if it was her being put on the spot like that she would come off as a blubbering idiot. Spike glanced over at her from his seat on center stage and gave her a quick wink, it happened so quickly that Buffy hadn't even noticed the camera zoom in for a close up of it.
"Now that was cute!" Allie said as she clapped her hands together. "For those of you that don't know Spike's girlfriend is actually sitting backstage right now." Buffy was surprised when the crowd began to clap for her and even more surprised by what happened next. "Why don't we bring her out here?"
The crowd screamed and cheered as her eyes grew wide as saucers. Spike turned toward her and cocked his head in a 'come here' motion. Buffy shook her head, the anxiety of the entire situation completely overwhelming her. Spike jumped up from his seat and sprinted across the stage and over to her as the audience continued to cheer.
"Come on out." He said grabbing her hands as he reached her.
"Spike, no," she said shaking her head and trying to pull away from him, "I can't."
"You can." He said as his reassuring blue eyes locked in on hers. "I'll be right there next to you, luv. Let's show everyone how perfect we are together."
Buffy didn't want to, she really didn't want to, but when he looked at her like that she just couldn't resist him. She nodded shortly and he quickly touched his lips to her forehead before taking her hand in his and pulling her back on to the stage behind him.
"There she is!" Allie said as Buffy came in to the view of the audience, cameras, and millions of people watching at home. A brilliant smile lit her face as she gave a small wave to the audience as she walked across the stage behind her boyfriend. He sat back down on the small couch next to Spike and wasn't surprised when he threw his arm across the back of it behind her shoulders. "Wow, so this is THE Buffy."
Buffy let out a short laugh as she nodded. "That's me."
"So what's it like dating a rock star?" Allie asked.
"It's interesting." She said with a nod, the audience laughed instantly. "It's pretty hard when he goes on tour but the time I get to spend with him when he's home makes it worth it."
"Do you ever get jealous that he's touring with a band consisting of mainly other girls?" She asked.
"Um, at first it was a little jarring," she said honestly, "but I've met the other girls and they're really cool."
"Even Darla?" Allie asked.
"Especially Darla." Buffy answered.
Allie shook her head as she turned her gaze to one of the multiple cameras around the studio. "We have to take a short break but don't go anywhere, all the good stuff is coming up here on TRL." The main camera man yelled something Buffy couldn't understand but when everyone began to move around and reposition themselves she knew that they had gone to commercial. Allie turned toward Buffy and gave her one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen. "This is so cool, we're the first ones to have an actual interview with you."
Buffy laughed. "Well, I hope I don't disappoint."
"Oh, you won't." Allie assured her. "If we get on any topics that make you feel uncomfortable or I ask any questions that you don't want to answer just let me know and we'll skip it."
Buffy nodded. "Okay."
Spike tightened his hold around her and quickly got her attention. "You alright?" He asked.
Buffy nodded as she looked over at him. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Spike smiled before giving her cheek a quick kiss as the cameras all turned back to them. "And we're back in 3... 2..."
"Welcome back!" Allie said happily. "We're here with Spike Pratt and girlfriend, Buffy Summers, in their first official tell all interview. So," she said crossing one leg over the other and turning her attention back to them, "how did you two meet?"
"I was working at The Shadow Gallery and Passions was playing there one night and my boss assigned me to take care of them." Buffy answered.
"Did you two hit it off right away?" Buffy and Spike both glanced at each other and the audience immediately burst out in laughter as Buffy scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "No?" Allie asked in shock.
"I was a complete git." Spike said out of nowhere and earning another round of laughter from the audience. "Practically threw myself at her and the poor girl sodding hated me."
"I wouldn't say hate," Buffy threw in, "I just didn't like you... at all."
"What changed?" Allie asked.
Buffy glanced over at Spike and her eyes were screaming at him to make something up. "I was persistent," he answered, "kept showing up at the bar to practice, kept seeing this pretty little thing running around doing this, that, and the other and she was gracious enough to accept my apology." Buffy practically sighed in relief as he omitted Angel's part in getting them together, the last thing she needed was backlash from that right now.
"I made him jump through so many hoops." Buffy said with a laugh. Spike looked over at her with his smirk firmly planted on his face as the audience laughed again.
"And then there was the shooting." Allie said.
Buffy nodded. "Yup, he took a bullet for me."
"And that's when you said," Allie put her finger in the air for a dramatic effect, "oh yeah, he's the one!"
Buffy laughed as Spike continued to watch her with that sexy smirk. "Sad, but true."
"Well, you two do have quite the love story." Allie commented. "What are you guys going to do when he goes back on tour?"
"You kidding?" Spike asked in mock seriousness. "Bloody taking her with me, that's what."
Buffy looked back over at Spike with a look in her eyes that could melt any heart and he just couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arm a bit more snugly around her neck and pulled her toward him. Right there, in front of God and everybody, he kissed his girl for the world to see.
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"I can't believe he made me do that." Buffy said as she got ready for the Chase Annual New Years Eve Party with Willow at Spike's apartment. Typically they both would have gotten ready together at Xander's, they usually lived there during this time of the year, but Spike's apartment had more room and a bathroom twice the size so the decision was obvious from the start.
"You did really well for your first interview." Willow commented as she dusted her lips with a shimmery gloss.
"I was so nervous." Buffy said as she pulled the curing iron through her hair. "Remember how afraid I was before every presentation in speech class? Multiply that by ten."
"Well at least it's over." Willow said.
"Are you guys almost ready?" Xander called from the other side of Spike's bedroom door. "The limo's going to be here in like ten minutes!"
"We'll be out in a sec!" Buffy called as she turned away from the mirror.
"Can you help me zip up my dress?" Willow asked from the opposite side of the room.
Buffy made her way over to where Willow was standing and carefully pulled up the zipper of her dress. It was a dark blue sleeveless number that was skin tight down to her hips before flaring out slightly all the way down to the floor. It looked great with the bright red of her hair and the tiny black heels she was wearing wouldn't even make her taller than Oz.
"How do I look?" Willow asked as she turned around to face her.
Buffy smiled. "If I was a man, I'd be all over you. Can you tie me?" Willow nodded and quickly went to work on the crisscrossing tie up the back of Buffy's dress. When she was finished Buffy turned. "So?"
Willow looked her up at down and gave a curt nod. "If I was a lesbian I'd be all over you."
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Since the moment she had emerged from the room Spike was completely unable to take his eyes off of her. When she had given him the purple tie to wear with his all black suit he had been a little nervous, but she once again proved that she knew exactly what she was doing when it came to formal wear. The dress had a tight bodice but a large slit from the floor to the knee gave her plenty of leg room and showed off the impossibly high black heels she was wearing perfectly. The small train that lingered behind her as she walked out of the apartment and in to the limo made her look like she belonged on the red carpet and the wide band of sparkling accents around her waist showed off her flawless figure perfectly. The heart shaped sleeveless neckline was proudly showing off his necklace and no one could deny that his girl was destined to be the belle of the ball.
She held his hand firmly in hers as the entire gang, including Riley, walked up to the Kristiana Mansion that the Chase family had rented out for their annual New Years Eve party. The place was absolutely beautiful with its double staircase accented by the glass windows swarming in a halo around the decorated wooden door. The multiple balconies and large fountains on the grounds made it almost castle like and it became entirely too obvious that the Chase's were using this opportunity to show just how much money they really had.
They walked in to the mansion and were all completely in awe of the marble hallways with huge stone pillars they saw inside. People swarmed all over the place and loud dance music could be heard from the main ballroom just down the way.
Willow shook her head in almost disbelief as they made their way through the front foyer and down the hallway. "This place is..."
"Impressive." Oz finished for her.
"You can say that again." Faith commented.
"This place in impressive."
The entire group glanced at Bob who seemingly saw nothing funny with his unneeded repetition. They walked in to the large ballroom and were immediately spotted by Cordelia.
"Hey guys!" She said with her plastic smile strapped on to her face.
"Hey." Buffy said with a genuine smile.
"Nice place." Riley commented.
"Oh, this?" Cordelia asked with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing compared to last year."
"I've never been anywhere this nice." Xander said as he shook his head.
Cordelia just smiled. "Well have some fun, dance, there's a ton of food and we have full run of the grounds and the entire house. The bar is over there," she said pointing across the room, "and everything is on the house."
"Thanks." Willow said sweetly.
Cordelia smiled brightly again and quickly made her leave of the group. Buffy looked around the room and was surprised by just how many tables were stuffed on to one side of the huge room. "Let's go grab a table." She suggested. Everyone followed her over to the seating area and they quickly claimed a table as their own. When all of their things had been scattered around they decided it was time to get the party started and moved out to the dance floor.
"I love this song!" Faith said as she grabbed Bob's hand and made a run for the dance floor. Everyone watched as Faith began to dance skillfully around a very awkwardly looking Bob.
"Wait till he gets a few drinks in him," Spike said with a laugh, "suddenly he's Gene Kelly."
Buffy laughed as she pulled him further in to the throngs of dancing people and over to where Faith had taken Bob. Slowly but surely the rest of the gang followed behind and all started dancing in a sort of circle around one another. No one even noticed when Riley went straight for the bar.
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"Just a small town girl!" Bob yelled along with the stereo. "Living in a lonely world! She took a midnight train going nowh- anywhere! Why is this not the Glee version?"
Everyone in the group laughed as he continued to butcher the once awesome song. Drunk Bob had made an appearance about an hour ago and the group had secretly taken bets on how long it would be before he was face down passed out on the their table. Everyone else had a pretty good buzz going, but no one was anywhere near the levels of inebriation that Bob was currently reaching.
"I'm about to switch sides and go with Spike's answer," Faith said as her drunk date clung to her and tried to make her do what he apparently thought was dancing, "he's going to be out before midnight."
"No!" Bob yelled. "I know what you all are doing and it's not going to happen! I'm out-waking all of you!"
"Okay," Oz said as he clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, "whatever you say Bobby."
"Don't stop! Believing!" Bob yelled. "Hold on to that feeeeeelin'!"
Spike chuckled as he rested his chin on Buffy's shoulder. He could tell just by the way she was leaning in to him and the heat radiating off of her skin that she was definitely feeling the effects of her alcohol intake and, to be honest, he was as well. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before moving his lips to whisper in her ear.
"Wanna go outside with me for a bit?" He asked gently. "I have a feeling we could both use the fresh air."
"Street lights, people, ah-ah-aaaaah!"
"And a break from Banshee Bob over there."
Buffy let out an alcohol induced giggle before she nodded her head in agreement. Spike grabbed her by the hand and led her over to the door leading to one of the large balconies. The night view was absolutely breathtaking. The estate was covered in large trees and this particular balcony overlooked not only a large, beautifully detailed fountain, but also gave them quite a view of the large body of water that resided just past the treeline.
Spike felt Buffy give a slight tremor from beside him and instantly shed his suit jacket. "Can't have you freezing to death." He muttered as he wrapped it tightly around her small form.
"But now you're going to be cold." She pointed out.
Spike gently rested his hands on her hips and used them to turn her around slowly. With her facing the outlook before them he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned them gently against the balcony's stone railing. "I think I'll manage." He whispered.
They stood in silent awe for a few moments as they took in the view and let the cool night are clear their heads. It was pretty cold out, she had been right about that, but the warmth of her body nestled against his kept him plenty warm.
"One minute left!" Someone called from inside the ballroom. Most of the other couples on the balcony or loitering around the grounds quickly rushed inside to join the main group for the count down, Buffy and Spike didn't move an inch.
"Do you want to go inside and bring in the new year with your friends?" He asked as he placed a soft kiss on the sensitive skin on her neck.
Buffy turned in his arms and rested her back against the banister as she locked her eyes with his. "I was hoping that we could do ours alone."
Spike smiled warmly at her as he recognized the words that he had said to her on Christmas morning. He ran a hand through her wavy hair as he gazed down at her. He nodded slightly, the same way that she had, and waited for his cue."
"3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Spike's lips crashed down on to hers with a gentle passion as the crowd in the room behind them cheered. To them there couldn't have been a more perfect moment, but for the pair of prying eyes on the balcony above this new year was already turning out to be anything but happy.
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It was going on two in the morning and the party was still in full swing. Everyone was having a blast and nobody wanted the night to end. Buffy sat at the large round table with Spike on one side and Willow on the other. Oz was next to her and on his opposite side was Bob. He was practically falling on to Faith at this point but luckily she had Xander next to her to help her when he started to slump down. They had offered multiple times to call their limo and have it pick them up but Bob refused.
"I'm a trooper!" He yelled.
"Whatever you say, Bob." Oz said as he pulled him back up in his chair.
The group had been involved in happy conversation for the better part of the last twenty minutes and everything seemed to be going great. Feeling one of the slightly more annoying effects of the alcohol, Buffy politely excused herself from the table.
"Feeling alright, luv?" Spike asked with concern, the last thing he wanted was for his girl to be puking in the bathroom with no one around the hold her hair.
"Yeah, just have to pee." She answered.
Spike nodded and quickly got to his feet. He pulled her chair out for her and offered his hand to help her stand. She took it graciously and quickly made her way out of the ballroom and in the direction of the bathrooms. When she walked out in to the main hallway, however, she was stopped in her tracks when she saw Riley sitting on the third to last stair of one of two large staircases with his head in his hands.
She walked over to him with concern evident on her face. "Are you okay, Riley?" She asked as she approached him.
His head shot up and when he saw that it was Buffy his expression turned in to a scowl. "Like you care." He slurred.
Buffy's brow furrowed as she took in his words. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Riley scoffed as he got unsteadily to his feet. "You don't give a shit how I feel, Buffy, just admit it and stop trying to be such a damn saint all the time."
"Riley," she said as she shook her head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Jesus Christ!" He roared. "I'm in love with you, Buffy! Pure and simple!" Buffy watched as he began to pace back and forth in front of her. "You know how I feel about you and all you do is rub it in my face that I can never be with you."
"Okay," Buffy said as she tried to block out what he was saying and cast it off as drunken bullshit, "I think it's time that you go home."
"Don't mother me!" He yelled as he took a couple of menacing steps toward her. "I saw you two outside, on the balcony, making out like your lives depended on it."
"What?"
"Yeah," he said with an angry nod as he glared down at her with his hands on his hips, "you do that shit just to make me jealous."
"No," Buffy said, "I did that because Spike is my boyfriend and it's what couples do when the clock strikes midnight on New Years Eve."
"Shut up, Buffy!" He yelled. "Just shut up! You are stupid, stupid you know that? You run around with this guy who's never here and is probably banging random sluts while you're here playing miss prim and proper girlfriend."
"Riley," Buffy said warningly, "you really need to stop talking now."
"Make me." He challenged as he took another step toward her.
"Hey!" Buffy and Riley both looked over to see Spike rushing over to them from the ballroom. He had an icy glare in his eye and Buffy knew that this wasn't going to be good.
Riley let out a bitter chuckle as he turned back to Buffy. "Oh look, your white knight is here."
The next thing Buffy knew Riley had spun around and threw a punch directed for Spike's face. He dodged it with ease and, much to Buffy's surprise, didn't try to hit him back. When Riley threw a second punch and actually landed it, however, Spike decided it was time to handle things his way. His arm shot out and quickly landed a punch to Riley's nose. Apparently it was still sore from where it had been broken by him before and Riley wasted no time with throwing another punch in to Spike's abdomen. Spike grabbed Riley by the hair and quickly brought the man's face down on his knee as the blood began to pour from Spike's newly busted lip.
Out of nowhere four police officers ran in to the foyer and began to pry the two men off of one another with much difficulty. Everyone inside the ballroom had apparently heard the commotion outside and were all quickly rushing to the foyer to see what was going on for themselves.
"Get the fuck off me!" Riley roared as two police officers pinned him to the ground and quickly handcuffed him. Buffy watched in horror as Spike was thrown against the hard marble wall and soon enough he too had a pair of silver shackles slapped around his wrists.
"You are both under arrest for battery. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." The officer said as he pulled Spike away from the now blood splattered wall. "You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"
"Buffy!" Spike yelled as the police officer led him out of the mansion.
Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Oz all took no time in following Spike and his arresting officer but when his partner stuck out a hand to stop them Buffy could do nothing but watch as her boyfriend was thrown in to the back of a police cruiser and promptly taken away.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
For some reason my computer wants to correct anything that starts with the letters "br" to "breadstick" so if there are any random food occurrences in the chapter I deeply apologize, but please enjoy the laughter it creates. I know I did while reading this over.
"The view was absolutely breadstick"...
Thanks laptop.
There is going to be a ton of stuff happening here. I was tempted to stop it at my normal 11 page length but I decided to go with my gut and give you guys a long chapter. Fasten your seat belts, my dear children, it's going to be a wild ride!
"The view was absolutely breadstick"...
Thanks laptop.
There is going to be a ton of stuff happening here. I was tempted to stop it at my normal 11 page length but I decided to go with my gut and give you guys a long chapter. Fasten your seat belts, my dear children, it's going to be a wild ride!
Chapter End Notes:
"I'll leave that bitch a cliffhanger, bitches love cliffhangers!"
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