It was the first visit she’d managed since they’d come out to their family. The album had taken a long time, but they were nearly done with it and Spike was not only excited for it to be released, he was anxious. It was the first time he’d ever created something he’d cared about and Buffy knew how much it meant to him that it did well. She knew he was nervous and she wanted to be there for him, it had seemed like a good time to come, but it hadn’t helped his apprehension. Her intension had been to relax him, but as he sat across from her now he felt anything but relaxed; the tension between them was almost palpable.
It was partly because it was her first visit, it was partly because they hadn’t been alone together for weeks, and it was partly because even jetlagged and dressed in slacks he’d wanted her since he’d first picked her up from the airport and circumstance had been against them ever since. She’d arrived late so he’d already been on edge; things had gotten heated in the arrivals lounge and again in the car park, but only so far as was acceptable in public.
There had been little conversation on the way home to her old flat, and she hadn’t even had chance to put her bags down in the hall before they’d been disturbed by a knock at the outside door behind them. They turned to see her old friend Faith; Buffy rushed with as much energy as she could muster to let her in and they hugged. Faith to her credit grabbed the bag from Buffy’s hand and helped them up to the apartment with her luggage, managing to guilt them into this evening along the way there. She’d invited them all to the Bronze, already ready to go herself she’d left them feeling a ‘No’ wasn’t an option and they didn’t have much time to think of an excuse. So here Buffy was and although she’d initially regretted calling Faith and telling her when she’d be arriving home she’d made her bed and had to lie in it.
They were at the club now and not much had changed. Faith hadn’t for a start; they’d had a good enough catch up, but it’d been a while since either of them had seen her. Buffy had half expected her to slink off with some guy and as Spike was here she didn’t think badly of her for leaving. Besides she knew how to make good out of a bad situation, and she was far too busy enjoying the way that Spike was sat at the other side of the dance floor watching her with a burningly lustful gaze.
Her original plan, knowing that Spike and her definitely needed privacy had been to go home early, or sneak off as soon as Faith did her inevitable disappearing act. However since then Buffy had had a rethink and found this course of action much more amusing. She wasn’t dancing with anyone; she hadn’t any other girl friends here apart from Faith and she knew it wouldn’t be the best idea to dance with any men, given that Spike’s stare also had a slight warning in it not to push him too far.
However despite the glare she wasn’t afraid of him and she didn’t mind teasing him these days; she knew he was different now and more in control of himself. Tonight was the night, she thought as she swayed her hips, but she would make him sweat it first.
Everything had moved so quickly after he’d last come home, after they had sat down and told their remaining family about their relationship, about their plans for the future. It had taken the next day as well and there had been tears, but there had also been a glimmer of understanding, and even Dawn had helped to calm the transition, though she wouldn’t admit to it fully.
But one thing there hadn’t been, was time for them to be alone.
She couldn’t believe they had waited this long without it sending one or the both of them crazy, but tonight she would finally know what it was like to be loved by him again.
She was in big trouble, he thought as he watched her dancing. He would have let her off driving him mad, if he didn’t know what she was doing. He wanted to go and join her, half to put his claim on her and half to feel her up close, but he couldn’t. He needed a minute, or he needed a clear path so everyone here wouldn’t see how badly she was affecting him when he walked up to her.
His throbbing problem gave him time to sit there and regret coming out with her tonight. He could have let her have girl time and waited for her at home, but he’d insisted on coming and spending time with her regardless of whether Faith was here or not. Although sweet, and earning him good boyfriend points for hanging with her friend it had been the wrong decision. Because although the waiting would have gotten to him either way, if he’d been at home he wouldn’t have had to see her dancing this way; here in a room full of people, where he couldn’t just bend her over and take her. God. His mind was suddenly filthy; he was hard as nails and his fists were clenched under the table to stop him from breaking something.
Noticing a gap in the crowd he took a steady breath and stood up. It was now or never.
He strode up to her as calmly as he could. She pretended not to notice, but when his arms slipped around her she let out a moan and he had to pull her into him and kiss her neck in appreciation.
As she leaned back into him she realised she hadn’t really planned this far ahead. She hadn’t thought about what she was going to do when he finally showed up next to her, or behind her as it had played out. But it didn’t really matter, because he was doing a good enough job of taking control of the situation.
She presumed his aim had been to stop her showing off in front of everyone, but if that was the case he’d failed, because all they were doing now was causing a scene together. He was grinding into her, as if to show her what all her dancing had done to him, and it made her ache in places she’d forgotten she had. She was sure they looked disgusting, like animals rubbing up against each other, but she didn’t care, because it was hot, and everyone deserved a little time to play dirty with their significant other. This was her night, this was their night.
They were still moving halfway to the beat of the music, not so off that anyone would notice, but they were far too concerned with the rhythm of each other than anything around them. His hands slid up a little too far for comfort and skimmed the bottom of her crop top. Before she could protest they made their way down and grabbed her thighs, stroking them possessively for a second before moving again. He repeated this over and over, driving her to distraction, each time growing bolder with his touch.
Buffy knew one thing; absence didn’t only make the heart grow fonder.
Before he could stop himself his right hand slipped up beneath her tank top, underneath her bra, and squeezed her breast. Right there in the middle of the room and despite the jolt of desire she tensed up immediately.
She didn’t make a move to get away from him, and actually pushed herself into his crotch more forcefully, but he could sense she wasn’t comfortable. That was fine with him, he’d never been one for voyeurism, it was just that everyone else sort of fell away when she was near him and he’d forgot how he should be behaving. He knew it wasn’t his brain calling the shots right now, but through the sexual haze he found the energy to pull away and spin her around to face him.
His stare was even more intense now, and Buffy felt like she couldn’t breathe. She felt his hands grab her hips in a bruising hold and she stumbled along as he used it to pull her away and off into a dark corner. Once there she felt a wall pushed up against her back and him hard against her front, no escape from either, not that she wanted it.
He kissed her, so hard and for so long that she was embarrassed how ragged her breath came out afterwards.
“I’m taking you home.” he almost growled, “Right the hell now.”
She wasn’t going to argue with that.
They nearly tripped over one of Buffy’s suitcases in the hall and they had to throw another off the bed. The second one had been left open in Buffy’s rush to get ready to go to the club earlier, and in their haste to move it her clothes got scattered all over the bedroom.
Neither of them cared much about that.
As he tore off her clothes and worshipped every inch of her skin he committed all of her to memory. He knew he didn’t have to, because he knew nothing could break them apart anymore, but he did it anyway, for the nights that she was far away and he couldn’t touch her.
She ran her hands through his hair and over his back and arms, remembering what it was like to have him all to herself. And although the tension never truly subsided until they were laid together joined, she felt so much relief in just being close to him and in his arms.
“I missed you so fucking much.” he whispered into her ear as she shook and trembled with him, as he rocked into her body and set off fireworks behind her eyes. She held him brutally close to her as wave upon wave hit them both. She moved with him through the storm passionately and never once let go of him.
Emotionally he took her to all the places she needed to go; to the places where you discover the pleasure and rapture of love, to the scary places you have to experience in order to grow, to the risky places where you have to trust your heart to follow someone into. He grabbed her hand and she interlocked their fingers; he urgently thrust it above their heads and the muscles in his arm tensed with the force as he used it to anchor them both.
He looked into her eyes and he took them over the edge, knowing she would do the same for them both later, knowing he had found his equal in life and in love. He kissed her as the sea around them calmed, as their movements slowed and as they gently made love again.
He took her to all the places, but he always would bring her back home and safe.