Title: Promise in Your Eyes

Author: FutureSlayer

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Don't own Spike and Buffy. Just hooking em up.

Distribution: Wherever, but ask me first, or at least tell me where it

is.

Summery: Spike will always be there for Buffy.

Spoiler Alert: Season Seven fic. If you haven't seen the whole season,

don't read till you have. Very spoiler-heavy for the last episode, "Chosen".

Song Fic: The Song is "Goodnight Sweet Girl", by none other than James

and his band, Ghost of the Robot!

~~

// Are we done for now, or is this for good?

Will there be something in time with you, it should.

Only girl for me is you, there can be no other one.

If I didn't have faith, I will come undone. //

~~

Spike could sense the First Evil before he even saw it with his own eyes.

Standing there, surely to taunt him, seeing Buffy make out with peaches.

Spike had lost once again. No matter what he did, he still just wouldn't

be good enough for her. He would always be beneath the mighty Slayer.

"Yeah, she needs you real bad", the First Evil teased. It was still in

the guise of Buffy, and that stung in Spike's soul. Stung in his blood.

Saying nothing, the vampire started to listen into the ex-couple's

exchange. Starting to feel sick, he decided to leave before he upchucked

all over a sacred temples shitty floor plan.

The First Evil left his side, and he started the not-too-long walk home,

all the while thinking about the tiny blonde. Everything that had

happened almost convinced him that she saw him in a new light. That

maybe now, finally, he would be a guy she would spend a little time on.

And now he realized, he *was* only convenient. And, she had told him

that, billions of times, billions of different ways. All hurtful, yet it

never sunk in.

*She may believe in you, but, she doesn't want you* Spike thought. He

closed his eyes for a moment, letting the thought sink in. It didn't

matter to her that he was there for her always. That he had gotten his

soul back for her. That *he* didn't leave. And the one who did leave her

was the one that got the smoochies.

Everything that had gone down the past few weeks

floated back into Spikes head, and he could hear her, over and over.

Could hear himself, things they had said

to each other, in friendship, in what he thought may have been more.

The best night of his unlife came back, and despite his anguish, he smiled

at the memory. But knowing that it was only him until her Angel came

back, made the memory more bitter sweet than he remembered it being. The

talk earlier. Everything. And now, it was back to playing kick the Spike.

Or even worse, still telling him she cared.

After he got home, it was straight to the punching bag. Time to pull out

that old picture of peaches and beat it to a bloody pulp. Spike was in the process

of doing just that when none other than Buffy Summers clanked down the steps.

"So, where's tall, dark, and forehead?" Spike asked, the hostility not exactly coming

out fully in his voice. She wasn't going to get to him this time. He did *NOT* care.

"Let me guess," she replied, "You can smell him?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that and I also used my enhanced vampire eyeballs

to watch you kissing him." he shot back.

Buffy tried to explain herself. "It was a....hello." she justified.

Scowling, Spike accused, "Most people don't use their tongues to say hello.." A pause,

realizing the logic of his words "..Or I guess they do, but.."

Buffy cut him off. "There were no tongues. Besides, he's gone."

That didn't help the situation. "Oh, just stopped by for a quickie then?" he asked.

Buffy sighed, starting to get angry. "Good, good, I haven't had enough jealous vampire

crap for one night!" She stopped by the punching bag, but had yet to look over to it.

"He wears lifts, ya know" Spike quipped, as Buffy gave the bag the once-over. Taped in the

center was a drawing of a certain vampire with dark hair and an "overhanging" forehead. She sighed.

"You know, one of these days, I'm just going to put you two in a room and let you wrastle it out".

Spike began to light a cigarette from across the room. "No problem at this end" he replied. Buffy

began to smile, thinking about the possibilities of her comment.

"There could be oil of some kind evolved.." she mused. Spike interrupted her pleasant train of thought.

"Where's the trinket?" he asked, referring to the necklace that Angel had intended to wear.

The one that gave strength to the wearer.

"The who-ket?" Buffy asked.

"The pretty necklace, your sweetie-bear gave you, I believe it's mine now" he answered, annoyed.

"How do you figure?" Buffy said, eyeing him.

"Someone with a soul, but more than human. If Angel meant to wear it, that mean's I'm the qualified party"

Spike held his hand out for it.

"It's volatile, we don't know-" Buffy started to protest.

"You'll be needing someone strong to bear it then, you plan on giving it to Andrew?" He interrupted.

Buffy paused. "Angel said the amulet was meant to be worn by a champion" she told him.

She might as well have slapped him across the face. He still wasn't her champion. Sighing, Spike turned

away. Before he could sulk, yell and scream at her to get out of his basement, or for that matter beat her up,

Buffy pulled the amulet out and reached towards him with it, placing it in his hands. She looked him in the eye.

Spike couldn't help but smile. "I've been called a lot of things in my time.." he almost thought out loud. Buffy

smiled back.

"Faith..still has my room".. she worded carefully.

"Well you're not staying here!" Spike augured. "You can't buy me off with shiny beads and sweet talk. You've got Angel breath!

I'm not going to just let you whack me back and forth like a rubber ball! I got my pride, ya know!" he finished.

"I understand", Buffy said sadly, starting to turn and make her way up the stairs. Spike froze.

*You bleeding idiot*, he thought, *You're just going to let her go? You have no pride, she's made sure of that. GO!*

Spike ran to catch up to her, placing himself in front of her before she reached the steps.

"Clearly, you don't, because that whole having my pride thing was just a smokescreen" he replied with a smile.

Buffy was relived. "Oh thank God" she said.

"I don't know what I would have done if you walked up those stairs" Spike replied softly. Buffy smiled, reaching up

to caress Spike's cheek. The promise was in her eyes, the statement never said, but certainly proved. Someday,

maybe someday soon, he could be her champion. Maybe he already was.

As they climbed into bed, Spike held Buffy tight to him, a contented smile never fading from his face. For the first time,

he felt like he won.

// I still see the promise in your eyes

I still wonder if it's for me.

But I know it's still there, even when

You sleep, So I say,

Goodnight...Sweet Girl//