Admittance

Buffy came downstairs as Spike was leaving the living room. She looked at him, and he looked around before grabbing her discreetly, to pull her aside.

"Wanna slip away for a minute, luv?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I'll let you blow out m' candles."

"Right now? I don't think so."

"Worried about Richard?" he teased. "Don't wanna make the new boyfriend jealous, eh?"

"Shut up, he's sweet," she countered, pathetically.

"Shut up, he's sweet," Spike mimicked, as he trailed his long digits down the bare flesh of her arm. "Know sweet's not what you want."

"Oh yeah?" Buffy pushed him away slightly, and crossed her arms. "Well, you're wrong. Sweet is what I want. It's what I need."

Spike's jokey mood died instantly at her comment, and he glared at her.

"What?" she asked, in confusion. She hadn't meant to hurt him with that particular barb. Just keep him on his toes, a bit.

"You're not being fair," he answered, with complete sincerity.

"What?" she asked again, more softly.

"How can you tell me that sweet's what you want and need, when I've been offering it to you on a plate and all you do is throw it back in m' face? The only time you don't shut me down completely is when I turn that whole bloody side of me off!"

She was horrified at his words, because she knew he was right and, in an uncharacteristic moment of softness, she was ready to admit as much when Richard stepped back into the hall to disrupt them.

"I know you said no to the drink," he said to her, nervously – completely ignoring the vampire's presence. "But I thought that maybe you might like one anyway. I got you a cola."

Buffy couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes, but before she could form a verbal response Anya joined them all, too.

"How are you getting along?" she asked, too brightly. "Have you made a connection yet?"

"Ugh! Anya, please stop trying to help."

"Why?"

"Because I don't need a new boyfriend – sorry Richard."

The boy hung his head, but Anya wasn't giving up that easily.

"Why?" she asked again.

"Because I'm sleeping with Spike!" Buffy blurted – loud enough for even the others in the living room to hear. They all came out to catch the end of the conversation.

"That's right," the Slayer continued. "That's what I said. I'm sleeping with Spike. Last month. This month. Yesterday. Hell, ten minutes ago in the basement!"

"Oh," Anya said, while everyone else was speechless.

"Yeah, oh. So, I'm really sorry, Richard, but I'm kind of taken. Spike's in love with me, and I really like him, too, but I haven't been treating him very well. I've been keeping what we have a secret, but he really is good for me-"

"How good?" Anya interjected.

"Very good," Buffy emphasized, and the vampire almost blushed. She wasn't finished with the tirade, though, and so she carried on. "Spike's been wonderful. As wonderful as I let him be, that is. I haven't been fair to him at all, but he's given me so much. And, yeah, I'm sleeping with Spike."

As her rant ran out of steam there was raucous laughter heard coming from the kitchen. Turning around to the source of the noise, the group watched Halfrek walk out of the kitchen to greet them. She glanced at Spike and, when realization hit her, she laughed again – harder than before.

"I just called in to see how the spell was going, and you haven't even noticed. Shame on you" – she wagged her finger at Buffy – "That big speech, though? Excellent. Simply wonderful! Glad I caught it. I needed a good chuckle. Even better to find out it's about dear William, here. You know, he used to be quite the loser, back in the day. Hard to believe the simpering virgin was a stud underneath."

If the vampire in question hadn't of been in so much shock he would have likely hit out at the vengeance demon for her words but, as it stood, he was lost in a sea of mixed emotions.

"You put a spell on us?" Buffy asked Hallie.

"You're not a guidance counselor?" asked Dawn.

"Spike was a loser virgin?" said Xander, with a smile. "Suddenly everything makes sense."

Everyone turned to look at him and he continued, saying, "The spell's the reason why Buffy's saying these things, right? I mean, she would never do that-" he gesticulated towards Spike "Uh, him. Captain Peroxide couldn't get a date and so he asked for a spell to make it seem like he could."

"You're a moron," Spike stated.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed with him. "I mean, what part of 'I'm sleeping with Spike' did you not get? I said it like ten times. Xander, I AM sleeping with Spike. We have a… thing."

The carpenter's face fell and Clem cheered, randomly. When the group's collective gaze turned to him he just shrugged and said, "I already knew, but I just find the whole thing wonderful."

"Yes, wonderful," Hallie agreed, "That's what I said."

"Get out of my house!" Dawn told her.

"Fine, fine," she said, with a wave of her arms, which had no effect. She preened, a bit, then tried and failed again to teleport from the place.

"Did the wish happen to involve not being able to leave?" Anya asked her, in annoyance. "Hallie! How could you? Some of these people are guests in the wedding party!"

Halfrek sighed and reluctantly broke the spell. Before she left for good, though, she pointed to Dawn and said, "This one steals things." Then poof – she was gone.

"I am so busted," said Dawn, with a guilty smile.

"Not the only one," Xander commented. "Buffy, you can't do this. Spike's a horrible, nasty-"

"Shut up!" the Slayer cut him off, before turning back to Spike and lowering her tone again, to add, "He's sweet."

Awestruck, the vampire approached her and they kissed passionately.

Clem cheered again.

The End!