My Boyfriend's Back
Part 4
"Are you all right, baby face?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No."
"Yes, I did."
Buffy opened her eyes and looked up
at him. "Just a little at first...cause
it's been so long."
Spike sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."
She snuggled closer. "S'all right," she
assured him, smiling sweetly. "I'm fine."
He threaded his fingers into her hair. "Some-
times I forget what a little thing you are."
Buffy's smile turned sassy. "Not to mention
what a 'big' thing YOU are."
"That's my clever girl." He laughed and
gave her a squeeze. "God, I missed you."
She was silent for a long moment, then
said, "Does that mean you're going to
stay with me?"
"Sweetheart," He hesitated a moment. "I
want to..."
Buffy immediately shook her head and
moved away from him, not wanting to
hear what she feared was about to come
out of his mouth.
"Never mind," she said quickly, swinging
her legs out of bed.
Spike grabbed her hand. "Where are you
going?"
"I have to put the phone back on the hook,"
she explained, locating her robe and slip-
ping it on. "In case my mother calls."
"Where is she?"
"She's visiting some friends in New York."
Without another word, she turned and left
the room.
Spike settled back against the pillows and
waited, a slight smile tugging at the corners
of his mouth.
After several minutes went by without her
returning, he climbed out of bed and pulled on
his trousers, leaving them unfastened.
He found her in the kitchen, staring
out the window, holding a glass of
milk in her hand.
She turned when he came in. "Want some?"
she offered, holding out the glass.
"No, thanks," he answered, crossing the
room at a leisurely pace. "You drink it all
up, baby. I want my girl healthy and happy."
Buffy shrugged. "Uh-huh," she muttered
under her breath.
Ignoring her belligerant tone, Spike leaned
back against the counter, then kissed her
cheek. "The milk will help keep you healthy,
and I'll keep you happy," he said, flashing
a grin that could only be described as lech-
erous.
She drained the glass, then stared at him
in utter silence.
Spike trailed one finger across her upper
lip, cleaning off the milk that was clinging
to it.
"You'll keep me happy?" she asked, reaching
for a napkin and wiping her face. "Well, for
as long as you're HERE anyway."
"Buffy..."
"Hey, it's all right," she interrupted. "I under-
stand. You gotta be free. A vampire can't
tie himself down, especially with a slayer. I
mean...how would it look?"
Spike frowned "How would it LOOK?"
Buffy rinsed the glass and left it on
the counter, then turned to meet his
eyes.
"Listen, you don't need to worry
about me," she informed him. "I'll
see you whenever you decide to breeze
through town and in the meantime...well,
I'm sure Parker will call again."
It was of the worst things she could have
said, but it was out of her mouth now,
and she couldn't call it back
Spike's eyes darkened ominously. "You
know if I thought for one second that you
really meant that...I'd kill him." He smiled
dangerously. "Surely you don't want to be
responsible for the boy's death?"
Buffy held his gaze boldly for a moment,
then glanced away. "No. No, I don't."
"That's my good little girl," he said, pinch-
her cheek. "Now, tell me...do you like
diamonds?"
His question was so out of the blue that
Buffy wasn't sure she had heard him
properly. "Excuse me?"
"Diamonds," he said again. "Do you like
them?"
"Well...I guess I...I mean...everybody
likes...huh?"
Spike pulled a small black velvet bag from
his front pocket, opened it, and extracted
a ring...a thin gold band with channel set
diamonds all the way around.
"I wasn't sure if you did," he mused, taking
her left hand and sliding the ring onto her
third finger.
Buffy stared at it. "What's THAT?"
"It's called a ring, darling. Now, some girls,"
he said, reaching back into the bag, "prefer
sapphires."
He placed another ring on her finger, this
one banded with deep blue gems.
"And some girls prefer rubies." He added
another ring. "While some fancy emeralds."
After placing the last ring on her finger, he
kissed her hand. "I wasn't sure what you'd
like best, so I bought all of them."
Buffy kept her eyes on the stack of rings
nestled on her finger. The stones glittered
in the overhead light, making rainbow
prisms dance.
Spike grinned. "Now, aren't you sorry
you said all those mean things?"
She finally found her voice, and looked
up at him. "But...why?"
"I told you, babyface...you belong to me
and I want every man you meet to know
that you're taken."
"Oh." she replied lamely.
"What's wrong? Don't you like them?"
"Uh...yes! " she nodded vigorously. "Yes,
of course I like them...they're beautiful,
but...what do they mean?"
"What does it usually mean when a man
puts a ring on a woman's finger?"
Buffy wasn't convinced. "I know what it
USUALLY means. I just don't know what
YOU mean."
Spike wrapped his arms around her waist
from behind. "All right, I'll try and keep
this simple. I'M back...and YOU are going
to marry me." He shrugged. "That's
about it."
Just when she'd thought she couldn't
be more surprised. "You're asking me
if I'll MARRY you?!!"
"No, I'm TELLING you that you'll marry
me."
Buffy looked at the rings, then at him. "Have
you been drinking?" she asked suspiciously.
"Not a drop," he assured her. "I'm com-
pletely sober and sound of mind." He
grinned impishly. "Well...as sound as I ever
am."
"Yeah, I'm sure."
Spike overlooked her doubtful tone. "You
choose a date...make it soon...and I'll
make all the arrangements," he said. "I
know that it won't be strictly legal in your
world, but it WILL be binding...and perma-
nent."
He turned her in his arms, and cupped her
chin in one hand, lifting her face so she
could see he was serious.
"This is it for you, babyface. From now on,
it's you and me...and God help ANYONE who
tries to come between us."
As his words began to sink in, Buffy began
to smile.
He wanted to marry her. To commit himself
in a way he'd not done with anyone else. Even
Drusilla, his lover for more than a century, hadn't
gone through any form of marriage with him.
Buffy despised Drusilla. Even leaving out the
fact that she was a slayer and Drusilla was a
vampire, she harbored an intense personal
dislike for Spike's ex as well, though it had
taken her some time to pinpoint the problem.
At one time, she'd believed that the reason lay
in the fact that Angel returned to Drusilla after
he'd lost his soul.
But when she forced herself to be brutally
honest, she couldn't really claim simple
jealously since her antipathy for the female
vampire had started long before the return
of Angelus.
It wasn't until Angel had left town, and Spike
showed up without his 'Queen of the Damned
crazies' trailing along behind him, that Buffy
begun to get a clear fix on why she hated
Drusilla so venomously.
Her feelings had nothing to do with Angel...and
everything to do with Spike.
The day he'd arrived back in Sunnydale he had
come looking for her, explaining what had
occured between him and Dru in South America.
He'd then begun an aggressive campaign of
pursuit, not caring that she was a slayer,
his mortal enemy.
In a surprisngly short period of time, Spike
had dismantled every one of her defenses.
Brick by brick, he pulled down the wall be-
tween them, forcing her to admit to the
physical attraction that had started on the
night they'd clapped eyes on each other
for the first time.
From there it had been one short step into
his bed.
At that point, after becoming his lover,
Buffy's dislike of Drusilla had blossomed
into full blown jealous hatred.
She'd made herself a promise that if Dru
was ever crazy enough to return to Sunny-
dale...which was a pretty safe bet...she'd
be dust before the sun went down.
An uneasy mixture of envy and uncertainty
dogged the early days of her relationship
with Spike.
Envy of Drusilla's natural seductiveness,
something she could turn on and off like a
faucet, of her experience, and of the kind
of talent in bed that had kept Spike's
interest for so long.
That...coupled with her lack of confidence
in her own practically virginal charms...had
worried her for a short time.
It had pleased her to no end, and improved
her outlook immensely, when she discovered
that Spike hated Angel just as bitterly as Buffy
hated Drusilla.
He hadn't been shy about telling her that his
animosity hadn't been rooted in the complex
dynamic that the three vampires had shared,
but in the simple fact that he despised the
idea of Angel even TOUCHING Buffy...let
alone taking her virginity.
She knew that Spike would be perfectly
willing and pleased to put an end to Angel
in the most painful way he could devise,
vampire code of ethics be damned.
He'd warned her repeatedly to make sure
that Angel stayed as far away from Sunny-
dale...and from Buffy...as he could go.
Determined to expunge any trace of her
first lover from her mind and heart, Spike
had gone so far as to take the silver clad-
dagh ring that Angel had given her. Driving
her to the beach, he'd made her watch as he
flung the ring into the sea.
In her head, Buffy had known that his
possesiveness should have alarmed her,
but it hadn't. She'd never experienced such
heated behavior from a male before, and it
had excited...and aroused her.
Angel had loved her...and made love to
her...gently. His love was tender, calm
and protective.
Spike's love, although just as protective, was
reckless and wild, and something primitively
female in her responded to it with a wildness
of her own.
He had never hurt her, but he was a strong
and demanding lover who thought nothing of
approaching her any time of the day or night,
picking her up in his arms, and carrying her
off to bed.
Knowing that she provoked such powerful
feelings in him made her blood run hot. Stand-
ing beneath the black velvet sky that night,
watching the muscle of his bicep work as he
clenched his fist around Angel's ring, had
called forth her need for what he could do
to her.
They'd ended the evening by making urgent
love at the end of the pier.
Time had done nothing to dull their jealousy
for each other. If anything, it got sharper.
Fearing their reactions, Buffy had asked
her lover to keep their relationship private,
a secret from her friends.
Spike had shrugged his shoulders and gone
along with it, not caring whether they knew
or not.
His laissez-faire attitude had continued until Buffy's
friends began trying to fix her up with other
men in a search for boyfriend material.
THAT had put the brakes on his indifference,
bringing it to a screeching halt.
He had then forced her to inform everyone of
her non-available status, telling her that
if SHE didn't, then HE most definitely would,
and he wouldn't be particularly delicate about it,
either.
Although they'd been horrified at first,
they had respected her decision as she'd
explained that in matters of the heart, she
had to follow her own happiness.
Seeing that nothing they could say would
change her mind, they had accepted the
situation as well as they could, and had
been kind enough not to say "I told you so"
when the predicted blow up occured.
**What are they gonna say about THIS?**
"What are you thinking about, baby?"
Spike's voice brought Buffy back
from her reflective state.
She smiled slowly. "Is this real?"
He smiled back. "This is as real as it
gets, sweetness," he said, bending to
kiss her.
Buffy needed more, and she ducked away.
"You'll stay with me?" she asked. "Even
though I'm the slayer? No matter what
your vampire pals think?"
"Since when do I care about someone else's
opinions?"
She gave him a look. "You cared about it
a year ago."
Spike had the grace to look slightly guilty.
"That's one for you, luv," he said, acknowled-
ging the truth of her words.
Putting an end to the conversation, he picked
her up and slung her over his shoulder.
"Right, then," He gave her a light swat on
the rear. "I suppose you want a big wedding,
don't you? All the trimmings?"
Laughing, Buffy placed her hands on his back
and lifted herself up a bit. "Those are really
expensive."
"Not to worry," he said, carrying her out of the
kitchen. "Money's not a problem."
"How come?"
"I'll explain it to you later," he promised,
climbing the stairs. "Right now...I've got
something else in mind."
"Big surprise."
Spike tossed her on the bed, discarding
his pants. "Brace yourself," he warned
her. "This is gonna be a rough ride."
She grinned as he crawled up her body.
"I'm the slayer...and I can take the rough-
est ride you've got," she said, wrapping her
arms around his neck.
He paused. "In case I haven't said it yet..
I love you."
"Don't just tell me...show me!"
***** ***** ***** *****
The next morning...
Willow unlocked the door to the Magic Box,
wishing once again that Giles would have
enough of the warm weather in Mexico and
come home to mind his own store.
Anya hated getting up early, and refused
to show up until 9:00 on the dot.
Sipping a cup of coffee she'd picked
up at Starbucks, she noticed the red
light of the answering machine flickering,
and thumbed the 'play' button.
"Hi, Wil...it's me...I 'm just calling to let
you know that everything's fine. Ac-
tually it's more than fine. You ready?
I'M ENGAGED!! He came back to marry
me! Wait until you see my ring! I mean
my rings! Call me later, okay, but...don't
scold me cause I'm so happy and I
want everyone else to be happy, too.
Um...gotta go now, so we'll talk later."
Willow listened, smiling at Buffy's effer-
vescent babbling, then reached for the
phone.
"Anya, it's Willow...I know you're not
coming until 9:00...Is Xander around
anywhere?...Good morning...are you
sitting down?...Yeah, you probably
should...Try to contain your enthusiasm,
but Spike is back...Last night...He
came to the shop and then went to
find Buffy...It doesn't matter anymore..Be-
cause things have changed...They're
getting married and...What was that
noise?...Xander?...Are you still...Yeah,
I'M here...What happened to...Oh, for
crying out loud...Well, dump some
cold water on him and wake him up..I'm
coming over and I'll explain it when I
get there...."
The End
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