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Please review. I lost a lot of reviews when the site went down, and I'd like to try to get back close to where I was.
Buffy took a deep breath, her hand poised to knock on the door to Willow's dorm room. She hated this, the uncertainty she was feeling over having a conversation with one of her closest friends. Willow was supposed to be one of the people she knew would always be in her corner. She steeled herself and rapped her fist against the wood.

Willow opened the door a moment later. "Buffy! You came!"

"You asked me to," Buffy said. "You told me you wanted to talk."

"Um, yeah," Willow replied, clearing her throat. She stepped back, giving Buffy room to enter. "Come on in."

Buffy gave a small nod, entering the dorm room. She stopped short when she saw who else was in there. "Xander? What is this, yet another intervention? Cause to be honest, I'm really sick of those."

Willow shut the door, then took a step towards Buffy before the look in the Slayer's eyes made her stop short. "We just wanted to talk to you, Buffy."

"Yeah. Remind you who you're real friends are," Xander said.

"My real friends?" Buffy gave a short bark of laughter. "Real friends wouldn't be here telling me that being with the one man in my life who has ever made me truly happy is wrong!"

Willow held up her hands. "We're not telling you you're wrong, Buffy. We're just thinking maybe you're…confused. After what happened in that book, it's only natural that you would be confusing Spike and William. But Spike isn't a romance hero, Buffy."

"He's a cold blooded killer. He's murdered thousands. You can't be with someone like that," Xander added.

"So you're not with Anya?" Buffy replied. "Cause you two look pretty damn cozy to me."

"This isn't about Anya," Xander said. "This is about you getting yourself all worked up over another vampire."

"And you just can't stand that, can you?" Buffy asked, turning towards Xander. "You can't stand the fact that I'd choose another vamp over you."

"No! It's not that!" Xander said, taking a step back. "Spike is still a killer. If he got that chip out of his head…"

"And if Anya ever got her demon powers back…" Buffy retorted. "You are not the person to be telling me not to be with someone with a bloody past, Xander Harris. Anya's body count is bound to dwarf Spike's, and I'm not even sure if she thinks anything she ever did was wrong, or if it was all in the name of righteous vengeance. What would stop her from going right back again if D'Hoffryn asked her? What would stop her from taking vengeance on you if she was called on to do it?"

"Because she loves me!"

Buffy crossed her arms in front of her, feeling that her point was made even if Xander wasn't willing to see it. "And Spike loves me."

"Spike can't love you, Buffy," Willow said, trying to keep her voice soft and sympathetic, though to Buffy's ears it was still harsh. "He doesn't have a soul. It's just going to be like Angelus all over again."

Buffy turned back to Willow then. "No. Spike is nothing like Angel. He loves me in a way that Angel never could, with or without a soul. And we're mated. That's forever. No amount of misguided intervention from the two of you will change that."

"Buffy, Spike's only going to hurt you," Willow insisted. "And…and this mating thing, I think there might still be a chance to undo it. I was looking into spells, and…"

Before Willow could finish her sentence, Buffy had her pinned up against the wall. "Don't you dare. I swear, if you do anything to come between us, you will be sorry." She stepped back, letting Willow go. "Spike will never hurt me. He's my mate. He can't hurt me. And that includes hurting other people, because he knows that would rip me apart. And he's going to fight with everything he has to make sure that I'm never hurt by anyone else either."

"Claim or not, he's still a vampire," Xander sneered.

"Exactly! And vampires protect their mates!" Buffy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm in love. And for the first time since I was called, I feel like there's some level of peace for me. Someplace where I can escape the turmoil that is the life of a Slayer. And that place is in Spike's arms. If the two of you were really my friends, you'd be happy that I finally have that."

"Buffy, we are your friends," Willow said. "And we want you to have that. We're just not sure you can with Spike."

"I can," Buffy said. "And I will. I'm not giving him up. And I care about the both of you, but…" She glanced at Willow and Xander, meeting them both in the eye before she spoke again. "If the two of you want to be my friends, you're going to have to accept Spike in my life. Otherwise, I don't have anything else to say to you."

"You'd just toss away our friendship for him?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"Losing Spike would destroy me. If you really want to do that to me, then you're not my friends anyway." Buffy walked out of the dorm room, leaving Willow and Xander in silence.

*** *** ***

Buffy hit the bag in front of her as hard as she could, grunting with the exertion of the punches. How could they call themselves her friends and try to take away her happiness? And Willow had actually thought about trying to mystically erase the claim? How could she?

She hoped she'd convinced Willow that trying that would be a very bad idea. Although even if Willow did find a way that—which to be honest, Buffy wasn't even sure if you could break something as strong as a claim, even with magic—Buffy would only go right back to Spike and have him bite her all over again. He was hers, and no one could take that from her.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Buffy stopped suddenly, spinning around to see Spike emerge from the back entrance of the Magic Box. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Or feel me, apparently. Something's got you good and worked up, luv. Things not go so well over at Willow's?"

Buffy's shoulders slumped. "Xander was there, too. It was another one of their damn interventions."

"They want you to give up drinking?" Spike asked with a small grin.

"And they're not too happy with my crack addiction either," Buffy replied. She sighed heavily. "They're supposed to be my friends, Spike. They're supposed to be happy that I'm happy."

Spike wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. "I know, kitten. They just have their heads too far up their arses at the moment to see that."

Buffy sighed, moving away from him a little. "I wish they'd pull them out. I really don't want to lose my friends."

"I know, baby." He pointed towards the punching bag. "You're never going to work off the tension with that thing."

"Yeah, but it's still light out. There's no vamps around to pound on."

"There is me," Spike replied with a leer.

"I'm in the mood for a fight, Spike. Not…that."

"I know." He dropped into a fighting stance. "C'mon, Buffy. Give it to me good."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to fight you. Besides, you can't even hit back, so where's the fun in that?"

"Neither can that punching bag."

"Yeah, but it doesn't have feelings. You…" Before Buffy could finish her sentence, Spike had taken a swing at her, though he'd purposely missed her in order to avoid a firing of the chip. "Hey!"

"Come on, pet. Put up a fight. Always did like it when you were…beating on me."

"You are such a perv," Buffy replied with another eye roll. Spike struck at her again. "Knock it off."

Spike's only response was to grin and throw another punch at the air beside her head.

"Okay, fine. If that's the way you want it…" Buffy took a swing at him, only to have Spike grab her arm and flip her onto the mats. She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. "Oh, now you are in for it."

Spike ran his tongue over his teeth. "Such sweet promises there, Slayer."

Buffy jumped up and lunged at him, only to have Spike block her every move. He couldn't hit back, but he could certainly keep up. It had been so long since she'd gotten the chance to fight him, and even if it was just sparring, the feel of facing off against such a capable opponent got her blood racing. Suddenly, she stopped fighting, launching herself into his arms and pressing her mouth hard against his.

"Thought you weren't in the mood for this," Spike said as she broke the kiss.

"Changed my mind."

Spike grinned. "Sparrin' with me get you all hot, Slayer?"

"Oh yeah."

Spike pushed her against the wall, licking his marks on her neck. "Always did, didn't it baby?"

Buffy knew there was no reason to lie now. Not with what they had between them. "Uh huh. Had so many dreams about you throwing me down in the middle of a fight and fucking my brains out."

Spike groaned, thrusting hard against her. "Wanna make those dreams come true?" he asked, his voice husky.

Buffy ran her hand down his cheek. "You make all my dreams come true."

"Oh, Buffy," Spike moaned, crashing his lips down on hers. Buffy pushed him away, and Spike frowned before he realized she was simply ridding herself of her pants. He grinned. "No knickers, luv?"

"Figured it was the safest way to keep you from ripping them off me at some point."

"Good idea." Spike unbuttoned his jeans, pulling out his cock and stroking it, shivering at the way Buffy's eyes followed the movement of his hand, her pink tongue darting out to lick suddenly dry lips. "See something you want, baby?"

Buffy threw herself into his arms. Spike stumbled slightly, only to regain his balance by pushing her up against the wall. She hooked her legs around his waist, and Spike thrust home, groaning in heartfelt pleasure as he felt Buffy close in around him. He pulled out only to immediately push back in again, setting a rough but steady rhythm. His growls mixed with the sounds of Buffy's grunts and mewls as well as the sound of her hitting the wall with the power of his thrusts. She clung to the leather at his shoulders, her mind not registering anything but the bone melting pleasure of having him inside her again.

When her orgasm hit her, Buffy screamed, the force of it almost too much for her to bear. She clenched tightly around him, and Spike sank his fangs into her neck, succumbing to his need to mark her again as he came inside of her.

Spent, they slid down to the ground, Spike moving to sit beside Buffy against the wall. Suddenly, the door opened, and Buffy scrambled to cover herself with the side of the duster Spike was still wearing.

Anya stood in the doorway, her arms crossed in front of her and a frown on her face. "You think maybe next time you're in the mood for a little hanky panky in the training room, you could just do what Xander and I do, and wait until after business hours? All that screaming and banging scared off all the customers. I think they thought someone was being murdered in here." She slammed the door, leaving Buffy to turn back to Spike, burying her face against his shoulder in mortification.

"I can't believe people heard us."

Spike wrapped his arm around her. "Least we gave them something good to listen to."

Buffy smacked his chest, though she didn't have the energy for more than what amounted to a small swat. "Pig."

Spike leaned down and licked a drop of blood that was running down her neck. "Oink, oink, baby."

Buffy jumped up, scrambling to find her pants and put them back on. Spike looked up, concern in his eyes. "Buffy, did I…"

"We have to get to your crypt…now."

"What…"

"Look, Anya says I can't have sex with you in here anymore, and if I have to wait much longer for round two, I'm going to spontaneously combust, so get a move on."

Spike grinned, getting to his feet and re-fastening his jeans. "Let's go, princess."

Buffy took his hand and walked with him through the sewers and back to his crypt.

*** *** ***

Buffy lay in the bed with to Spike, curled up against his side. At the moment, the fire inside her had been calmed, but she knew it would be only a matter of time before she was desperate for Spike's touch again. He stirred something deep, something primal inside of her, and she knew that even if they made it through to eternity, she'd never get her fill of him.

With any other man, she might have been frightened by desire this intense, but with Spike it just felt right. She needed him, and he needed her. It was the way things should be.

"Oh, I got something earlier I wanted to look at with you," Spike said suddenly, reaching over the edge of the bed and picking up his duster where it had been discarded. He pulled out a glossy magazine, tossing it on top of the mattress.

Buffy's eyes lit up when she saw what it was. "An apartment guide!"

"Yeah. Thought we should get a jump on this. As much as I like your mother, I don't fancy living with her forever."

"I still need to be close by, though," Buffy said. "You know, in case Glory…"

She stopped as Spike flipped to a page he had dog-eared. "This one's in a complex two miles away from your mum. They've got washer and dryer connections in the units—so you can get to work on those pesky demon stains right after patrol—cable's included in the rent, and there's a pool for a little late night swimming fun." He wagged his eyebrows at the last part, making Buffy giggle.

"Sounds like you've been doing your homework."

"They've got a two bedroom available, which I thought would be good since one apocalypse or another might leave us with a mess of houseguests. Or Dawn might just want to spend the night with big sis." He shrugged. "Either one."

Buffy looked at the pictures from the complex he was talking about. It certainly did look like a nice one, and it was in the good part of town. The rent was reasonable, too. "Can we call tomorrow? Ask if we can come see it or something?"

"That would be the next step, I suppose," Spike replied, kissing the top of her head. "Although really, I'm about as new to this as you are. Usually if I wanted a place to stay, I just ate the current occupants."

Buffy gave him a dirty look. "Charming."

"Well, I'm not doing that this time. You've made a right ponce out of me."

Buffy replied with a soft kiss, "I'd like to think I've made a good man out of you."

*** *** ***

Sorry there was another break in posts this time. Blame it on Xander. I didn't know what to do about him.

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