Older, But Closer
Jessica Charlotte
Story Summary: A more spuffy friendly version of Older And Faraway
Chapter One:
Buffy walked down the stairs, dreading going back into the living room. She felt
awkward enough with Spike there, letting alone having to deal with Richard. Sure, he
was sweet. But she wasn't attracted to him in any way, shape, or form. No, the guy she
was attracted to was sulking in the corner with a delicious pout on his face. Inhaling
deeply, she forced a smile on her face. Her smile became a bit less forced when she saw
Spike waiting at the bottom for her.
His cool hand sent warm tingles over her skin as he guided her away from the
living room. "You want to slip away for a minute, love?" he questioned, running his
tongue on the edge of his teeth.
"What?" she whispered heatedly, feigning agitation when really, the faint flush
staining her cheeks was caused by arousal, not anger.
"I'll let you blow out my candle," he said, only partly kidding.
"Here? Now? I don't think so." She was smarter then that. No way was she
going to risk one of her friends finding her giving Spike a happy.
"Oh what? You're worried about Richard?" He looked in the direction of the
living room, before refocusing his gaze on her. "You don't want to make your new
boyfriend jealous, huh?"
She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her smile. "Shut up. He's-" not you, "Sweet."
"Oh shut up, he's sweet," Spike mocked playfully. He smiled at her, his smile
only widening when she returned it.
Feigning innocence, Buffy teased, "Maybe he's not the jealous one."
He raised his eyebrows in return, the smile fading. She started to walk around
him, and he snaked his arm around her and pulled her flush against him so that her back
was to his chest. He inhaled the scent of her hair deeply, ducking his head so that his
mouth was right next to her ear. He ran his fingertips over her stomach as he murmured,
"Think he'll take you out on his ten speed, pet?" He smirked as he felt her sag against
him, her resolve fading away. Releasing her and allowing her to step away from him he
added, "Maybe he'll let you ride in that little basket up front."
She turned and looked at him, amusement clearly written on her face. She rolled
her eyes playfully before forcing the smile off her face. Channeling Cordelia, she
snapped, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a party to get back to." Her pseudo
bitchiness instantly dissipated and she smiled at him one more time before walking back
into the living room, much more relaxed then she was two minutes earlier.
He watched her hips switch back and forth for a moment before scoffing, "Jealous
my ass," and he walked back towards the kitchen in search of a beer.
Buffy sat staring at the silver plastic device in her hands. "See? It's a battery
operated back massager. And it's portable so you can take it on patrol!" Willow
helpfully filled in for her, her cheerfulness radiating nervous energy.
"Oh," Buffy responded, still staring at the device as if it might bite her.
Willow continued, "It's like, instant gratification for all your little achys."
Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him. Yet she felt her eyes
betraying her, as they swept up his body from his Doc Martins, up his jean clad legs, to
where his thumbs had hooked into his belt, fingers splayed across his crotch. They
continued upward, meeting his eyes in a glance that spoke volumes. He raised his
eyebrow, and their earlier conversation flashed through her mind. She darted her eyes
back to the present in her eyes, willing the blush off of her face. She missed Spike's
smirk.
"Great," she chirped, setting it down on the table and looking everywhere but at
Spike. "What's next?"
"Here, do mine!" Dawn said, reaching over and grabbing the box from the back of
the couch.
Buffy gladly took the box from her, gently tearing the tape. She lifted the box lid
and gasped at the jacket that lay inside. "Dawn," she breathed, her fingers running over
the material.
"Do you like it?" Dawn asked, her hands running nervously over her skirt.
"It's gorgeous." Buffy lifted the coat out of the box. Of course, it was black, so
she had to like it. Not that the color had anything to do with the color preference of the
vampire standing ten feet away from her. No, of course not. Black was good for
slaying, she mentally reassured herself.
Dawn sighed in relief, a smile blossoming on her face. "I was so nervous," she
rambled. "I was afraid you wouldn't like it."
Buffy froze at the sight of the security tag. "It still has the security tag on it."
"That's so weird," Dawn said, stumbling slightly over her words. "I can't believe
they forgot to take that off."
She stared at Dawn. Something wasn't right, she could tell. "Happy birthday,
Buffy," Xander said, breaking her from her thoughts. She looked over and gaped in
appreciation at the chest that was now on the other side of the coffee table.
Jacket forgotten, she stood up and walked over to it. "Oh my god, did you guys make that?"
"Yes," Anya answered. She then elaborated, "Uh, well, Xander did the building.
Um, I offered helpful suggestions while observing from a safe distance."
Buffy knelt down by it, trailing her fingers over the carvings. Xander lifted the
lid, "Holds basic weapons, plus a few non-basic ones too." She smiled brightly at him,
her third real smile of the evening. "Plus there's a handsome CD holder," he added,
motioning to the different compartments.
"We wanted you to have something no one else would have," Anya said, smiling
brightly at Buffy.
"A Xander Harris original," Buffy supplied. She smiled at the couple. "I love it,
thank you guys!" She leant over, kissing Xander on the cheek before running around the
chest and hugging Anya.
A while later, the last guest, Sophie had arrived and the guests, minus Buffy,
Richard, and Spike were all in the living room. Buffy walked out of the dining room, she
had gone there under the pretence of checking that there was plenty of snack food still
around. Who was she kidding? She wanted to run into Spike. Unfortunately for her, the
bleached vampire was nowhere to be seen. Sighing in resignation, she tugged her shirt
up so she was covering more of her chest than she was while she hid waiting in the dining
room. Walking back towards the living room, she almost walked right into Richard.
"Hey," he greeted. "Great party. Everyone's having fun." He motioned behind
him to the living room, where it did appear that everyone was indeed having fun.
Buffy clasped her hands in front of her and smiled, "I hope so."
Richard cast a glance at his watch, "I mean, look what time it is and no one's even
thinking about leaving." He paused, glancing away coyly before looking back at her. "I
know I can't turn myself away."
Buffy kept the smile on her face, the only thing changing was the raise of her
eyebrows. "Yeah?" she asked. What, he thinks that's cute? The pretty boy routine is so
not a turn on. This gal needs a bit more bite in her man. Her eyes widened almost
imperceptibly. I can't believe I just said that.
An awkward pause followed, which spurred Richard into action. "Hey, you want
a drink?"
"Uh-" she inwardly sighed with relief when she saw Spike appear over Richard's
shoulder. Damn, he was doing that thing with his eyebrow. She felt a flood of desire
rush through her and reprimanded herself. She shook her head, "Nah, I'm good. Thank
you. I think I'll just head back in."
"Well, I'll look for you," he said softly, gazing into her eyes.
She smiled on the outside, inwardly groaning. The kicked puppy dog thing is so
not my type. An image of Angel flashed through her head. Well, not anymore. "Okay,"
she kept smiling and nodding until he walked away.
She looked at Spike, waiting for the teasing jibe. She rolled her eyes when it
came. "Oooh, Buffy," Spike began, slowly swaggering towards her. She was really
having a hard time of keeping that smile off of her face. "Can I get you a soda pop? I
think I'm in love." He reached down and grabbed her hands in his, delighted when she
didn't instantly pull away.
After a few seconds she pulled her hands away, although she didn't step away and
there were only six inches between the two of them. How easy it would be for her to
close that distance. "Stop it," she said, although she said it with affection versus the
malice she was aiming for. She turned away and began to walk down the hallway,
knowing he would follow.
He didn't disappoint her. He slammed his hand against the wall in front of her
face, effectively halting her. He pressed her into the wall, running his hand down her arm
before catching her hand in his. He brought her hand to his upper thigh, moving it over
until he knew she could feel just how aroused he was. Her eyelids fluttered shut as her
resolve faded. She wanted to stop him, really she did. She didn't want one of her friends
to find out that she was engaging in activity with Spike by walking in on them in the
hallway. He bent his head to her neck, licking and nibbling the exposed skin there. She
instinctively tilted her head to allow him better access. Footsteps registered on the back
of her mind and she jerked away, relaxing only slightly when she saw that it was only
Tara. She made her escape, darting out from in front of him and down the hallway into
the kitchen. Spike watched her go in amusement, before turning to awkwardly face Tara.
Tara just smiled knowingly, but bit her lip to gain composure.
"I had a muscle cramp. Buffy was, um, helping." Spike supplied.
"A muscle cramp?" Tara questioned, fighting to keep the amusement off of her
face. "In your pants?"
"What?" Spike demanded. "It's a thing!"
Tara laughed silently, "Right," she said, turning away and walking back towards
the living room. She paused at the doorway and turned back to him. "She told me, you
know. She'll come out to the others eventually. She's just insecure of their reactions.
Give it time, Spike. Give it time." With that she walked back into the living room, her
stride a lot more confident than she felt.
"Well this sucks, I'm out." Buffy pouted, handing her money to a gleeful Anya.
"No way," Richard started. "I think you're doing fine."
"Wanna try poker?" Xander hollered at Buffy.
Buffy caught Spike's eye, "Yeah, I think I will." She grabbed a nearby chair and
set it at the corner between Tara and Spike.
"I still think it's weird without the kittens," Clem muttered.
"No kittens!" Buffy said firmly, earning her a few odd looks. She just darted her
eyes to the table to avoid questions.
"We should totally have a slumber party!" Dawn squealed when Richard pointed
out the time.
"I dunno," Buffy started, caving when she saw Dawn's hopeful smile. "I guess,
as long as everyone's staying up anyway."
"Must be some late night activity to keep us busy till morning."
Buffy kicked Spike under the table, looking at him in annoyance.
"How's that cramp, Spike?" Tara interjected, saving Buffy from further
embarrassment. "Still bothering you?"
"What? Oh, uh, yeah."
Tara smiled saccharinely, "Maybe you ought to put some ice on it." Buffy hid her
smile in the hand that was dealt to her. Go Tara! I'm really glad I spoke to her about
this.
Later on in the card game, Buffy was not doing so well. Games get boring when
you aren't winning, she decided. Out of the corner of her eye she chanced a glance at
Spike. Smiling slightly she moved her leg so that it was barely touching his. She
wrapped her foot around his, so that they mimicked holding hands with their feet.
His gaze shot over to her in surprise. When he saw her feigning innocence and
studying her cards he smirked. He adjusted his cards so that he was holding them in his
right hand and dropped his left into his lap. He moved his hand so that it was resting on
her knee. He ghosted his had up from her knee an inch or so, before squeezing lightly.
She bit her lip to keep from laughing, but he kept up his torture and giggles
escaped from her lips. She tore her leg away from his, catching the toe of her boot on the
table leg, a jolt rattling the bowl of Cheetos that had been long abandoned.
She instantly stopped laughing.. "Sorry, I guess I'm a bit tired." Nice cover up.
You, the girl who is constantly out till the wee hours of the morning is tired? She looked
around at the people eyeing her warily.
"What's up, Buff?" Xander asked with concern. "You're usually the party gal."
"Oh, I dunno," Buffy shrugged. She chanced a glance at Spike, to see him
watching her with an unreadable expression. "Just haven't been getting much sleep."
"Oh, well that's okay! We've got plenty of caffeine to keep ourselves peppy."
Willow chirped as she drained the last of her fourth soda.
"Well, actually, we're out of soda. And we're out of beer. As far as I know we
still have water though!" Anya chimed in perkily.
"Well, doncha think someone should do a drink run?" Willow questioned. "I
mean, what's a party if there are no drinks?"
Xander looked over at Willow, "You offerin? Cause I don't feel like moving any
time soon."
"Well, okay…here's me going."
There was an awkward silence as everyone sat around waiting for Willow to
move. When she remained sitting on the couch, everyone looked around in confusion.
"Water's fine with me," Dawn piped up suddenly, her voice sounding squeakier
then she meant it to.
A chorus of "yeah's" resonated throughout the room and people went back to
their various forms of entertainment.
Hours later found Willow and Sophie asleep on the couch, Dawn, Xander, and
Clem watching cartoons, Tara and Anya in the kitchen, and Richard trying to tear Xander
away from the television set. Buffy and Spike had managed to relocate to the floor
behind the couch and were playing cards.
"Hey, Xander," Richard began. "We gotta be at work in a few minutes."
"Okay," Xander replied distractedly.
"I really can't be late today," Richard continued, although no one was really
paying attention. Except for Spike of course.
"You should definitely go. Let's find your coat and get you on your merry way."
Although his words seemed amicable enough, Spike's tone clearly expressed his distaste
for the construction worker.
"Spike," Buffy murmured in a warning tone.
"I don't know why I'm not leaving," Richard said, clearly perplexed.
Spike was all sarcasm with his retort, "Me neither. Besides, Richie, you can't
skip breakfast, growing boy like you. Me, I used to love breakfast. In the old days, I
probably would've eaten by now."
Okay, this is getting out of hand. I need to put a stop to this. Think fast, Buffy.
"Of course, with that new diet of yours you wanna be careful of what you try putting in
your mouth there, Spikey."
He looked over at her, jealousy burning in his eyes. "Yeah? I don't know. My
tummy's makin all kinds of gurglies. Maybe I oughta just feed on whatever's around.
Even if it doesn't go down well." He shifted his stare over to Richard. "You, um, work
out?"
She was up in a flash. "Okiedokie." She grabbed Spike's arm none to lightly and
dragged him to his feet. "Excuse us," she smiled at the people in the room before
dragging him out and up the stairs.
She practically threw him into her room, and closed the door with a resounding
click. Turning on him, she crossed her arms over her chest and hissed, "Hey, Mr. Passive
Aggressive Guy. Seriously, you wanna take it down a notch or two in there?"
Spike glared at her, a pout firmly in place. "What? Poor, dainty Richard can't
take a joke?"
Buffy's glare softened slightly. "Spike. We do not joke about eating people in
this house."
Spike just stared at her. "What are you gonna do? Beat me up again?"
Buffy outwardly winced. She walked over to her bed and sat on the edge of it.
Dropping her face to rest in her hands she rubbed at her tired eyes and sighed. She could
tell that he wasn't expecting her to not retort back, he was shifting his feet. "You always
do that when you're nervous," she said, looking up at him once more.
Wariness reflected back at her through his eyes. "What are you goin on about
now?"
She was standing before him within a two second period, her fingers ghosting
over the vicious bruise marring his eye. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to be
so…brutal. I was scared, and you were saying some truths that I didn't want to admit, so
I-"
His hand cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him. "I know pet."
She smiled gratefully; glad to not have to speak longer. "Will you stop being
jealous now?"
"What are you goin on about? I'm not bleedin' jealous." His annoyed retort gave
way to the insecurity in his eyes. "Do I have a reason to be?"
Buffy smiled affectionately at him. "No," she said softly. "You don't." She
relished in the fact that she was able to calm him down and make him relaxed, ignoring
the fact that she was the one who made him stressed out in the first place. "Now could
you please stop being so hostile? Richard is sweet, and there's no reason to crush him. If
you haven't noticed, I've been politely ignoring every single one of his advances. He's
not the one I want."
"So what's this mean, love? Does this mean you and I are a couple? Are more
then just a comfort shag? That we don't have to be shrouded in darkness, regardless of
how fitting it seems."
"I think so. I can't tell them yet, though. Not today. But soon. I promise."
He smiled at her. "I've got all the time in the world."
A/N