AN: Spike and Buffy meet after NFA, but she is none too pleased. Spuffy. One Shot. Set after Season Seven of Buffy and Season Five of Angel. Written over a year ago. My first ever fanfiction.

Disclaimer: Yes, I do own the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, yes Joss Whedon is my "butt monkey"...no, wait, this is all in my head.

Forever Love
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, 15 months ago

"I love you."

Finally, after all these years of waiting, she says the words that mean the most to him. As the cavern begins to crumble around them, they both find the understanding, both find their place in the world: together. But then, as their hands become alight, he knows that she means it truly, yet he cannot believe her. For as she says it, he begins to feel the sun burning at his skin.

"No, you don't. But thanks for saying it anyway. Now go."

She gave him one final look of love, one final look of joy, and vanished from his sight. Then the fire came, followed by the end. He felt that he could rest, finally, in the knowledge that the woman he loves, loved him back. But this time was cut short.

19 days later, Los Angeles, in an office in Wolfram and Hart, the suffering began again. Only this time, his love was far from his sight.

Rome

As Buffy turns over to switch off the alarm clock, she tries to recall her dream. She was in the Hellmouth with Spike, but it was slipping from her memory and the rest could not be recalled.

"Buffy, Willow is on the phone, says that something big has happened in L.A."L.A. Angels city. Her first love.

"OK Dawnie, I'll be down now."As she rises from the bed, she tries with hope to remember the rest of her dream, but it doesn't help. Buffy is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't realize that she has already reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Want some juice?" Dawn asks as she opens the fridge door.

"No thanks." Buffy picks up the phone.

"Hey Willow".

"Buffy, L.A. is a war zone, Angel needs your help."

"Willow, why is L.A. a war zone, what's happened?"

"Angel started a little fight with some lawyers and they got a little angry."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"Not that I'm in the know about, I have no know, you know?"

"Thankfully, no! Tell Giles I'm off to L.A." They hang up.

"So, we leaving now?" Dawn asks.

"If you want to stay..."

"No, I want to go with you."

L.A

As Spike dodges a demon, he hears Angel roar in pain. He looks over head and sees Angel on the dragons back

"Hey grand sire, is it like riding a pony?"

"Mind your own damn business." Spike laughs, then is suddenly knocked out.

Spike walks alone down a crowded room of dancing couples. As he gets closer to the end of the room, the crowds vanish except for a couple, holding each other as the music plays, shining in the light in the centre of the room. Buffy? He tries to move closer but they go further into the distance.

"Illyria, grab him, we have to get inside."

"What about Charles?"

"He's gone."

Spike slowly opens his eyes as her hears a door closing behind him.

"Did we win?"

"Angel slew the dragon, but the army is still out there."

"Is Charley boy alive?"

"No, he passed away while you were unconscious."

'So was I dreaming or was it some unforseen problem?' Spike stands up and looks around. "Where are we?"

Angel comes in. "In an abandoned hotel, the Hyperion. How's your head?"

"Like it was hit with an anvil. How's the demon problem?"

"Gone."

"Gone? How?"

"Thanks to some Wicca help."

The door opens and in enters Willow, followed closely by Kennedy, Dawn and finally Buffy.

"Spike?"

As Spike and Buffy stare at each other, Dawn walks over to Angel and hugs him.

"I'm glad we got here in time." Dawn says as she steps away.

"I am too, otherwise we would've died out there." replies Angel as he hugs Willow.

"Spike? Is it really you?" asks Buffy as she moves into the lobby.

"It's me love, I'm back." says Spike with a grin. Buffy glares at Spike for a few moments, angry at him for what not telling him.

"How long are you back?"

"10 months, give or take." says Spike, taking a step back.

"10 months! You've been alive for 10 months and you didn't tell me!" roars Buffy as she ran at him, trying to hold the tears back.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

"To keep the image of me dieing like a champion for you as hat you remember." replies Spike as he wipes her tears away.

"Don't touch me."

Angel, Willow, Dawn, Kennedy and Illyria are just standing there watching. Buffy runs outside the building, Spike follows her, but Dawn stops him.

"Let her be."

Spike is walking around the lobby, while Angel, Kennedy, Willow and Dawn sit on the couch in Angel's old office.

"So, any other beasties besides the army from hell?" asks Willow as she watches Spike pace

"No, it's actually really of the norm at the moment."

"How did Spike come back?" asks Dawn as she stares at Illryia

"He got mail from an enemy of mine to under deem my right as a Champion. But I fixed that problem."

"I think I'll patrol, I need to do some violence." says Kennedy as she stands up. Illyria walks into the office.

"Did someone mention violence? May I partake in it?" asks Illyria.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Any weapons about?" says Kennedy as she moves out into the lobby.

"No, sorry. But I think Buffy left that cool axe thing" says Angel as he follows her into the lobby.

"Do you think Buffy will be ok?" asks Spike as the others come in.

"She needs to sort out her feelings. She was in a relationship after she had moved on…from you. She had mourned you and let someone else in her heart. Now, all of a sudden you're alive." says Willow as Kennedy walks to her.

"I need to go find her." whispers Spike as he leaves the hotel.

In a demon bar, a few blocks from the hotel, a demon on stage singing, Buffy is sitting with a vodka shot and a beer in front of her at the bar.

"Rough day? Need to talk about it?" asks the bartender.

"Xander?" asks Buffy as she looks up at the bar keep "Oh sorry." Buffy looks around the bar and sees a blond head walking towards her.

"Buffy, I'm sorry for not telling you I was back." says Spike remorsefully.

"Stay the hell away from me! I still need space." and with that, Buffy storms out of the bar.

Buffy walks in a snail pace. 'Spike was alive, was back, for over a year and he hadn't told me anything, never once thought of me.' She thought as she meandered through the head stones. 'He's here.' She thought. She could feel that happiness she felt as she saw him standing in the hotel grow in her again 'Spike's back.' She begins to smile, walking faster than before. She's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't see the vampire rising in front of her from his grave.

"Buffy, vampire, 12 o'clock!" Roars Kennedy, running towards Buffy with the scythe in her hand. She flips over a headstone beside her and decapitated the vampire before he realised what happened.

"What happened Buffy? Why didn't you see the vamp?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I was lost in my thoughts." She said, not wanting to explain further.

"Spike?" replied Kennedy, a silly grin growing on her face.

"Yes ok, Spike!" sighs Buffy. 'Am I that transparent?' she asks herself.

Buffy looked in the direction where Kennedy ran from and saw Angel and the Hell-god Illyria there.

"So, what's the what?" asked Buffy as they reached her.

"I just wanted to make sure the army was really gone, and Illyria here well-" Angel starts, before Illyria cut him off.

"I like to do violence." She said matter-of-factly.

"I'm getting that." Said Buffy, a smirk showing.

"So, any more bad guys for us to deal with?" Asked Kennedy as she swung the scythe in her hands.

"We can look if you want." said Angel as he stepped closer to Buffy.

"I hope there is more, I did not get to do violence." says Illyria as the gang starts walking again.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Spike has taken Buffy's seat at the bar and finished off her drinks as the demon on stage takes a seat beside him.

"Well blondie bear, do you need some love?" He asks. Spike turned and looked at him.

"Lorne? I thought you would have evaporated once the war started." Spike says as he turned to look at the exit.

"I was, suit case packed and all, then you stopped it. How did you guys do it?" Lorne asks as the bartender gave him his sea breeze

"We had some wicca help. Willow and Buffy and some others arrived in the nick of time." Spike says, his eyes still on the exit. Lorne follows his eye line.

"Was that Buffy you were talking too?" Spike nods.

"And you didn't go after her because..?" Asks Lorne as he takes a drink

"She was all pissed off that I didn't tell her I was back." Spike replies as he orders another shot.

"This is understandable. But I say go after her, you crazy mook! You love her and you let her walk away. Are you insane?" Lorne asks, placing his drink on the counter.

Spike downs the shot and stands up. "Thanks for the pep talk, coach." He says as he runs for the exit.

"People in love are the craziest people" Lorne shrugs, taking another swig of his drink.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

In another graveyard, Angel, Kennedy, Illyria and Buffy are gliding among the headstones in search of the undead. Spike has been tracking her scent since leaving the bar. He caught up to them within 20 minutes. He watches her from the sidelines as a demon and four vampires exit a crypt. Not expecting an attack, Buffy's guard is down. She is knocked in the crypt, followed in by the demon and two of the vampires. Vamping out, Spike races to the crypt and crashes through a window.

"Get the hell off her!" Spike roars, charging at the two vampires that are holding Buffy.

"Spike? How the hell did you find me?" Buffy asks as he knocks one of the vampires to the ground. Using her now free arm, she knocks the other vampire to the ground. Spike moves towards the demon as Buffy pulls her stake out and dusts both of her guards.

"Spike, down!" Buffy yells. Spike ducks in time as the stake goes flying through the air. It pierces the demon's skull and nails him to the door. Spike's face returns to human as Buffy walks up to him. Twirling him around, she smiles at him, slaps him and pulls him close, giving him a passionate kiss. Her tongue snakes into his mouth and he obligingly strokes hers with his. She looks into his blue eyes and realises something that has been evading her since the Hellmouth closed.

'Life is better with someone you love by your side.'

----------------------------------------------

AN: So, reviews. Now please.