By the time Buffy arrived home she was already missing Spike. In some ways she didn’t understand how she’d fallen so hard and so fast, but deep down she knew that it had been coming for a long time. When she finally allowed the wall around her heart to tumble, the organ was flooded with the emotions she’d denied before.
Buffy ambled into the living room and smiled at her sister and best friend, seeing them putting up the decorations together.
“Did you get the food?” Buffy asked Dawn. The blonde removed her coat and flopped down onto the couch. All that hot sweaty sex could really take it out of a girl, even if said girl was the Slayer. Especially when her horizontal gymnastics partner was a virtually insatiable vampire.
“Um, not exactly,” Dawn replied sheepishly. “But we do have a yummy canned feast coming up.”
Buffy grinned. “It sounds perfect, Dawn.” And it did.
Dawn responded with a smile of her own. “Xander and Anya are coming over too. And uh…I called Tara too.” The brunette flashed a surreptitious look at Willow who had paled at the mention of her ex-girlfriend’s name. “She said she’s going to come over.”
“Really?” Willow asked, tears glistening in her eyes.
“Yeah,” Dawn said. “She wants to see you. I told her that you’re magic free and…she’s missed you.”
Willow gave the younger girl a watery smile. “Thank you, Dawnie.”
Dawn shrugged feeling a little awkward and ducked her head. “Well, I’m gonna go get started on lunch. And there’s a couple special concoctions I’d love to try out.”
Buffy winced at the thought of what her sister might create but she didn’t try to discourage the younger girl. “Okay Dawnie,” she nodded before adding under her breath, “Please don’t poison anyone.”
Dawn skipped out of the room, a noticeable bounce in her step that hadn’t been there before. Even with the cast on her arm she seemed to have been revitalized.
Once her sister was out of earshot, Buffy turned to Willow and cocked her head. “So how you doing, Wills?”
“I’m okay, I guess,” Willow replied. “I’m glad that Tara’s gonna be here but a little nervous I guess.”
“You got nothing to worry about. Tara loves you.”
“She still thinks I’m gonna end up as crazy-magic addict again.”
“And are you?”
“No!” Willow looked a little hurt before her face softened. “It’s still there, buzzing under my skin. I can feel the power and I know I can’t use it because I can’t control myself but sometimes I can’t help wanting to use it.”
The Slayer eyed her friend. “Willow,” Buffy said, carefully broaching the subject. “You need to get the magic under control and get some real coaching. If you have some real training then I think you can use the magic responsibly.”
“You really think so?”
“Yep, I’m totally support-o girl when it comes to you being a sensible witch. No more crazy spells though. If you let the power take over then you’ll be lost and I don’t want that. None of us want that. We love you, Will.”
Willow was about to reply when the doorbell interrupted their conversation. Buffy sighed and headed to the door after promising Willow they would continue the conversation later. She pulled open the wood door, squealing as her eyes caught sight of the figure on the other side.
“Giles?” Buffy gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of her Watcher. “You’re here!”
With an excited screech she launched herself into his welcoming arms and clung to her surrogate father. He embraced her warmly, although she could see that his British properness had caused a small flush to invade his cheeks.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her happiness infusing her voice.
Giles pulled back from the hug and began polishing his glasses awkwardly. “Well, I couldn’t leave you and the other children alone for Christmas. It is the festive season after all and…I…er…that is to say…I missed you.”
“Are you back permanently?” she asked hopefully.
“We shall see,” he assured her, amazed at the transformation in his Slayer since he last saw her. Buffy was positively glowing. The last time he saw her she was a dying shell, falling apart from the inside out. And now she reminded him of the bouncy teen he’d first been assigned to watch over.
“Well, come in!” she urged him, tugging him inside the house, where he received an equally warm greeting from Dawn and Willow.
The next hour was a frantic rush to get everything on the table. Buffy happily welcomed Tara, Xander and Anya to her home, desperately blushing when Anya told her she was glowing like a woman that had ‘been on the receiving end of many good orgasms recently’.” She didn’t bother to correct the former demon that it wasn’t just the orgasms that were making her glow. It was actually the flush of love.
Of course, as always in Buffy-land, things were going too well, and when a smoking Spike came rushing in under the cover of a blanket, the atmosphere turned a little frosty.
“Alright?” the blond vampire said to the group that clearly hadn’t been expecting him, while stomping out the embers sparking on the blanket. The faces of the humans ranged from glee on Dawn’s face to outrage on Xander’s. Willow looked stunned, Giles looked perplexed, Tara was smiling a little, and Anya’s face had twisted into an expression of extreme boredom.
Xander’s face reddened with anger as he glared at the blond vampire. “What’s Evil Dead doing here?”
Spike opened his mouth to respond but Buffy stepped between the two males, her eyes flashing with determination. She leveled her gaze to Xander, suppressing a smile when he flinched.
“Spike is here because I want him here,” she told her friend decisively. “This isn’t up for discussion, Xan.”
“But he’s evil!” whined the brunet.
“He’s not hurt anyone in a long time,” countered Buffy.
“Only because of his chip!” Xander insisted, stomping his foot like a child. “If it wasn’t for the chip he’d be making you a nummy treat right about now.”
Buffy pinned him with a pair of fiery eyes. “Spike could hurt me if he wanted to. The chip hasn’t worked on me since I came back.” She sighed at the collective gasp that her revelation garnered. “And look at me. I’m here all nummy treat-less. I trust Spike because I’m in love with him. And that’s not going to change.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Xander demanded, turning to Willow. “Did you do another spell?” he asked the redhead accusingly.
The flushed witch shook her head vehemently. “I didn’t do anything!” she assured them with a gulp.
“This does seem quite unorthodox,” Giles said, confused at Buffy’s actions. “As far as I’ve always been aware, there’s always been a shared level of contempt between you and Spike, Buffy. And now you tell us that you’re…in love with him. It’s a little difficult to digest.”
“T-they are in l-love,” Tara whispered quietly, an expression of awe on her face. When everyone in the room spun to look at her, she blushed. “T-their auras,” she explained. “I-I can r-read their auras. And they’re in love, there’s no d-doubt about it.”
“And he’s a vampire so I’m sure Buffy will be the receiver of many happy orgasms from him,” Anya beamed, much to her fiancé’s disgust. “Mmm, vampire stamina.”
Spike’s hand’s crept tentatively onto the Slayer’s waist and she turned in his embrace. “I do love you,” she smiled. “I want this to be forever with you.”
“I love you too, so bloody much, pet.”
Buffy mewled, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. The couple’s kiss deepened, ignoring the choked ‘eek’ from Xander and Giles’ ‘dear lord.’ The sound of the older Brit polishing his glasses was actually audible.
“Aww!” gushed Dawn. “That’s so cute! This is totally awesome.”
Xander’s snort of distaste proved he didn’t share her sentiments. But for once he held his tongue. The boy knew when he was beaten.
When they finally broke apart, Buffy turned her ‘don’t mess with me’ Slayer face to the group.
“Now, Spike and I are together. We’re in love and that’s all there is to it. So if there’s no more objections…and there won’t be, let’s start celebrating!”
Her expression made it clear that she wouldn’t tolerate anything else from her friends and they all nodded, some more hesitantly than others.
Buffy smiled and relaxed back into Spike.
If she’d known that getting her friends to accept Spike was this easy then maybe she would have given in to her feelings earlier.
“Think we can get a minute alone?” Spike whispered to her. His cool breath tickled the shell of her ear and she shivered with arousal.
“Meet me in my room in five,” she whispered back.
Slipping away from the group wasn’t difficult. Everyone was still deeply in their daze of shock from the Slayer’s newest revelation so they didn’t notice when she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.
The moment she walked into her room her mouth became parched. Spike was sprawled on the bed. No..wait. Shirtless Spike was sprawled on the bed. And hell if he wasn’t the sexiest thing she ever saw. Two blue eyes flickered to briefly meet with hers and he smiled.
“See something you like, pet?” he asked.
“I-I uh, God yes!”
“What are you waiting for then? Christmas?”
Buffy giggled. “I’m not waiting anymore,” she told him. “I have everything I need right here.”
“You’re not the only one,” he said, holding out his arms to her.
She stepped forward, melting into his embrace and gently exploring his lips with hers. This was the most tender kiss they’d ever shared. It was an affirmation of their mutual love for each other.
It was beautiful.
Gently Spike rolled Buffy back onto the soft mattress and climbed on top of her, licking at her neck with his curious tongue. Her tiny mewls and moans only made him harder. She was so responsive to his touch and he could hardly wait to plunge inside her hot channel again.
“Mmph!” exclaimed Buffy suddenly reaching underneath her and pulling out a small pink stuffed pig.
“What’s wrong?” Spike asked with a frown, pausing in his caresses.
Buffy held up the pig and handed him to the vampire. “Surprisingly, not very comfy when I roll over onto my favorite childhood toy. Definitely not of the good with stopping all the yummy foreplay-ness.”
“Ha! So who’s this little fellow then?” Spike asked, cradling the pig in his arms.
Buffy giggled at how cute he looked and Spike quirked a questioning eyebrow at her sudden laughter. “I’m just laughing because you look so sweet with Mr. Gordo and you’re a big bad vampire.”
“I’m not sweet!” he insisted. “I’m the Big B…”
“…Big Bad,” interrupted Buffy. “Sure you are. My big, bad vampire.”
Spike grinned at her and slid into his demon face. He growled playfully relishing the happy laughter he evoked from her. He turned his amber eyes to the stuffed pig and smiled. “Well, hello Mr. Gordo. Now, you’re really gonna have to be a bloody good little pig and avert those eyes, because me and your Mummy are going to do some things that are not suitable for the eyes of an innocent thing like you.”
Buffy doubled over with laughter. She’d never realized just how many facets there were to this vamp. He fulfilled her needs in every way. A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over her as she watched Spike holding her pig but then she was in his arms again and Spike’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once. Any recollection of déjà vu was forgotten as they sank down to the bed together, lost in the bottomless pool of their passion.
When they finally made it downstairs, almost an hour later, both of the blonds avoided the knowing stares from the others. Xander seemed to have to keep his hand permanently clamped over his girlfriend’s mouth as she burst at the seams with desire to make some kind of sexual comment. Buffy was glad that everyone kept their judgments to themselves though, in spite of the perpetual glances.
However, soon it was all put to the back of their minds as they sat down to eat. The lunch itself wasn’t a culinary triumph. Dawn had cooked some beans and slices of toast, and something that might have originated as eggs, but no one was sure. She did it all with great difficulty seeing as one hand was in a cast. However, it didn’t spoil anyone’s enjoyment of the day. The Scoobies, Giles and Dawn laughed and talked together, even including Spike in the conversation.
The Slayer glanced at her sister, feeling her heart warmed by the brunette’s tinkling laughter. She wanted to make things better for the younger girl. Dawn had been through so many hardships during the course of her short life that Buffy believed it was now time to try giving her a little joy.
“I want to make a toast,” Buffy announced, smiling as the room fell silent and several pairs of eyes flickered over to her. “The last few months have been pretty sucky. Actually they’ve been of the majorly sucky variety. I’ve had so much resentment, so much pain that I forgot what was important. But I want things to be better for all of us.”
“What has happened in the past few months is not just your fault,” Giles interjected. “I think we’re all responsible for it to some extent.”
Willow nodded. “Yeah, Buffy. I-I wanted to say, I’m sorry too.” Her eyes met Tara’s across the table and she blushed. “I’ve hurt some of the people I care about, but I want things to be different now. I talked to Giles and I’m leaving for England with him to study with the coven over there. I want to get my powers under control.”
“Thank you, Willow,” Tara said quietly. “I think Buffy’s right. Things will get better.”
“Bloody right they will,” Spike added. “Nothing but the best from here on out for my Slayer.”
“Thank you, honey.” Buffy winked at Spike and clasped his hand, choosing to ignore the slight glare that Xander tossed in their direction. “I promise that today is the start of a new chapter. A happy chapter.”
“A chapter with lots of orgasms!” said Anya hopefully rolling her eyes at her boyfriend’s exaggerated cringe.
“Let’s raise our glasses in a toast,” Giles suggested.
Everyone complied. “Merry Christmas,” Buffy cheered.
“And Happy Hanukah,” Willow added with a cheery smile in Tara’s direction. The shy blonde returned her smile with a promise that there was hope for the couple.
“Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah,” chorused everyone. Even Spike joined in with the toast clinking his glass against everyone else’s.
As his glass touched Buffy’s their eyes met and they shared a sweet smile. In that moment both of them knew Buffy would honor her promise to help make their lives better than ever before.
And Buffy was better than her word. She became a happier, kinder person. She was finally able to give her little sister the love and attention that she craved. With financial help from her new boyfriend, due to the vast estates that were still under his control from his human life, the Slayer was able to dedicate more time to being a surrogate mother to the girl. It was joyous for the both of them. They were Summers and Buffy knew they needed to stick together.
She also finally embraced her calling, again thanks to Spike’s help and encouragement, learning to totally let go of the past and find joy in what she had been chosen to do. Sometimes her friends found it strange to see the new improved Buffy but the Slayer didn’t care. She was happy, and that was all that mattered.
Not long after Christmas, Willow went to England for training with a coven over there. The redheaded witch was able to harness her power and learn control. Tara accompanied her and their relationship went from strength to strength.
Buffy was also able to help avert a tragedy for her other best friend too. When a vengeful demon showed up at Xander’s and Anya’s wedding she able to slay that it before it was able to do any real damage. Although she had to admit, Spike was the one who alerted her to nasty demon posing in human form.
Things didn’t always fun smoothly between Spike and the Scoobies, of course, but she didn’t even flinch when her best friends periodically listed the reasons why she shouldn’t be with Spike or laughed at the sudden change in her. Let them judge. It didn’t matter because she was finally happy.
Buffy was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of doubts, suspicion or laughter at the outset. Her own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for her. And in time, they came to accept him too. Even he and Xander became grudging friends.
Of course, there were still hardships. She was still the Slayer and that came along with the territory but as a team they were able to deal with whatever the Powers threw at them.
When Spike sacrificed his own life to save the world down in the belly of the Hellmouth, Buffy briefly slipped back into her former depression. The weeks that followed were hard but when he came back to life and returned to her only yards away from her new apartment in Rome she felt like she’d been given yet another chance.
That only made her cherish him and their love even more deeply.
One of Buffy’s biggest personal struggles came when she found out that Willow’s resurrection spell had ‘blessed’ her with immortality. At first Buffy didn’t exactly see it as a blessing because it meant that she would have to literally wait an eternity before she could be gifted with her eternal rest. However, Spike didn’t buckle under the pressure and assured the woman he loved that he would be by her side for as long as she wanted him. Gazing into those azure eyes she knew that eternity would be more than bearable as long as she could spend it with the man she loved and adored.
After their lips met on that cool Rome evening no one saw them for almost a week afterward. A week in which Buffy and Spike redefined the Kama Sutra.
Buffy would forever remember her liaisons with the spirits and the night that changed her destiny. She saw every day as a blessing, and thanked the Powers that Be every morning when she awoke next to the man she loved. She had so nearly missed out on finding him, and she was determined never to lose him.
And so, as Dawn observed, “God Bless Us Every One!”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
So this is the final chapter of this story. I hope everyone enjoyed it! Thanks for reading. :)