Spike sat on the edge of the couch and watched Buffy as she sat beside him
and dressed his wounds. She cleaned him up and bandaged him in silence only
looking up at him when she wanted to make sure that she wasn't wrapping his
arm up too tightly. She wanted to be sure she wasn't hurting him in any
way.
Her mind started to drift about hurting him in the past. First physically, then emotionally. She continued to look downward at his wound but lifted her eyes up so she could stare at him without being too obvious. When she looked at him now she didn't see the same person that threatened to kill her and almost did on parent-teacher night during high school. She thought back to how she felt about him then and almost couldn't remember. There was not one shred of hate left in her toward him. She remembered when the thought of him made her so mad that she would use that when it came time to fight because it gave her more energy.
She thought back to when she found out about his crush on her and she went totally ballistic. Remembering the hurt look on his face when she tried to tell him that there was nothing between them made her heart hurt. How could she have been so totally wrong about him? When he had kept the fact that Dawn was the key from Glory, she saw a whole other side to him. He sat there bruised and battered and almost got himself killed simply because he couldn't bear to see her hurt if anything ever happened to Dawn. She had never wanted to kiss anyone as badly as she did at that moment. He had done something so noble for her and it had touched her more than anyone would ever know. She never regretted that kiss for one single second.
There were however, other kisses that she remembers regretting. She felt like she was a bad person for developing feelings for a soulless demon but he had been so sweet to her no matter how bad she treated him. Everything went to hell after that but no matter what happened she could never forget what it felt like whenever they had sex. Her mind would disappear into a world of complete bliss. She could feel nothing but his hands upon her and her racing heart as he brushed his lips over every part of her body.
Buffy suddenly felt her face flush and she hoped that Spike didn't notice. She looked up at him and smiled as she finished up with the bandages. She let go of his sore arm and patted his jean-clad knee.
"All better." She said and rose from her seat.
He grabbed her hand before she got the chance to walk away from him.
"Thanks, Buffy." He said with appreciation.
She squeezed his hand and smiled. He released his grip on her and she walked into the kitchen just as the teakettle started whistling. She took it off the stove and poured the steaming water into two mugs that sat on the island. She took out packets of hot chocolate mix and a bag of mini marshmallows and made the drink she promised her mother she would make for him in her dream.
Realizing what she was making, Spike stood up and made his way over to the kitchen and sat on a stool across from her. She gently placed a mug full of hot chocolate in front of him. He saw the tower of mini marshmallows settled on top of the warm liquid and smiled.
"I promised my mom I would make this for you." Buffy smiled.
"You did? And when was that, luv."
"The other night. In my dream."
"So, you're telling me your mother came to you in a dream just to tell you to make me some hot chocolate?" He looked confused.
"I've been having these dreams. That's how I knew you were still alive. Each dream gave me hints on how to find you. I was beginning to think that I was just dreaming what I wanted to see. I was so scared that I might never find you." Buffy admitted with a trembling chin.
Tears rolled down her cheeks and Spike immediately went to her and wrapped his arms around her. She held on to him tightly and tucked her head under his chin.
Seeing her cry gave him mixed feelings. He hated to see her like this but at the same time, her reaction to his return touched him deeply. He never thought in all the time he has spent on this earth that anyone would have ever been this happy to see him.
"You ok, pet?" Spike asked in a whisper.
"I am now" Buffy smiled.
Spike leaned forward and placed his lips on her brow. She closed her eyes and drowned in the warmth of his lips. Warmth. That is something she wasn't exactly sure she'd ever get used to. She never would have guessed in a million years that the man standing before her would end up with a warm body, a heartbeat and a soul. The soul was shocking enough but this was beyond her wildest dreams. She felt like she wanted to hold him forever and never let him go.
He pulled away from her and the loss she felt almost made her start crying again. They sat back down on the kitchen stools to finish their cups of hot chocolate before they got cold.
"Uh, we should really get started on training tomorrow. I've found I can hold my own in a fight against psycho but human ex-boyfriends but when it comes to demons, I've never felt so weak."
"Not to worry." Buffy said. "We'll have you back to your old big bad fighting self in no time. I promise."
"I really appreciate this, Buffy."
She reached her hand across the table and held onto this hand. She couldn't stop staring at him. At that moment she realized how Spike must have felt when she had been brought back. She remembered seeing the tender look on his face the first time he saw her. He automatically assumed that she was the buffybot. Why wouldn't he? The chances of something like that happening once was beyond the realm of reality but for it to happen twice was almost unimaginable. For that reason, she stared intently at him with complete fear that she will suddenly wake up and the moment will be over.
"Buffy? Are you sure you're ok?" He asked after noticing her staring at him.
"Yeah. Sorry. I know I'm staring but I just need to make sure you're really here."
"This isn't another nightmare, Buffy. I really am here."
"They weren't nightmares. A dream with you in it could never be a nightmare." Buffy admitted softly.
Spike blushed slightly. It was a vision Buffy was surprised to see. The slight redness on his cheeks made him look boyish and vulnerable.
"It's been a long day." Buffy said, interrupting his embarrassed expression. "We should get some sleep. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."
"Right. Just point me to the way of the sofa and I'll be out like a light in no time." Spike grinned.
"Uh, I was kind of hoping that you'd stay in my room tonight." Now it was Buffy's turn to look embarrassed. "When I realized you might still be alive, one of the first things I thought of were those nights we spent just holding each other. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've missed that."
"Lead the way." Spike said, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Buffy stood and held her hand out to him. He took it and entwined their fingers as they made their way to the bedroom.
"I see you finally got rid of those New Kids On The Block posters." Spike chuckled as he looked around her new bedroom.
"Yeah, well I remembered how nice you decorated your crypt and I opted for a more sophisticated look." She took his hand and led him over to the bed.
She saw how his eyes had been fluttering closed and she knew he was just as exhausted as she was. Neither of them wanted to even bother changing out of their clothes. They lay upon the bed and wrapped their arms around each other. She felt like he was still too far away, so she moved as close as she could to him. They finally felt at peace when their arms were tightly snug around each other's backs and their legs comfortably entwined.
He could feel her warm breath on his neck and she could feel his. She slightly pulled back and settled her forehead on his and looked deeply into his eyes. Her lips find his in a gentle and sweetly soft bedtime kiss. After pulling away, he made the move this time and kissed her again just as softly has she had kissed him.
"Goodnight, Buffy."
"Goodnight, Spike"
With that, they fell asleep together silently wishing that there would be a thousand more nights exactly like this one.
To Be Continued.....
Additional Note: If you are enjoying this story, please review. There has been a bit of a lack of reviews for this story and I like to know that there are people out there reading and enjoying it. Reviews give me the boost I need and helps me to write faster. I am currently working on another story called "Married By America" also, so my updates may be a little slower than usual but hearing from you makes me do everything I can to find more time to work on my stories. Suggestions for future chapters are appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Her mind started to drift about hurting him in the past. First physically, then emotionally. She continued to look downward at his wound but lifted her eyes up so she could stare at him without being too obvious. When she looked at him now she didn't see the same person that threatened to kill her and almost did on parent-teacher night during high school. She thought back to how she felt about him then and almost couldn't remember. There was not one shred of hate left in her toward him. She remembered when the thought of him made her so mad that she would use that when it came time to fight because it gave her more energy.
She thought back to when she found out about his crush on her and she went totally ballistic. Remembering the hurt look on his face when she tried to tell him that there was nothing between them made her heart hurt. How could she have been so totally wrong about him? When he had kept the fact that Dawn was the key from Glory, she saw a whole other side to him. He sat there bruised and battered and almost got himself killed simply because he couldn't bear to see her hurt if anything ever happened to Dawn. She had never wanted to kiss anyone as badly as she did at that moment. He had done something so noble for her and it had touched her more than anyone would ever know. She never regretted that kiss for one single second.
There were however, other kisses that she remembers regretting. She felt like she was a bad person for developing feelings for a soulless demon but he had been so sweet to her no matter how bad she treated him. Everything went to hell after that but no matter what happened she could never forget what it felt like whenever they had sex. Her mind would disappear into a world of complete bliss. She could feel nothing but his hands upon her and her racing heart as he brushed his lips over every part of her body.
Buffy suddenly felt her face flush and she hoped that Spike didn't notice. She looked up at him and smiled as she finished up with the bandages. She let go of his sore arm and patted his jean-clad knee.
"All better." She said and rose from her seat.
He grabbed her hand before she got the chance to walk away from him.
"Thanks, Buffy." He said with appreciation.
She squeezed his hand and smiled. He released his grip on her and she walked into the kitchen just as the teakettle started whistling. She took it off the stove and poured the steaming water into two mugs that sat on the island. She took out packets of hot chocolate mix and a bag of mini marshmallows and made the drink she promised her mother she would make for him in her dream.
Realizing what she was making, Spike stood up and made his way over to the kitchen and sat on a stool across from her. She gently placed a mug full of hot chocolate in front of him. He saw the tower of mini marshmallows settled on top of the warm liquid and smiled.
"I promised my mom I would make this for you." Buffy smiled.
"You did? And when was that, luv."
"The other night. In my dream."
"So, you're telling me your mother came to you in a dream just to tell you to make me some hot chocolate?" He looked confused.
"I've been having these dreams. That's how I knew you were still alive. Each dream gave me hints on how to find you. I was beginning to think that I was just dreaming what I wanted to see. I was so scared that I might never find you." Buffy admitted with a trembling chin.
Tears rolled down her cheeks and Spike immediately went to her and wrapped his arms around her. She held on to him tightly and tucked her head under his chin.
Seeing her cry gave him mixed feelings. He hated to see her like this but at the same time, her reaction to his return touched him deeply. He never thought in all the time he has spent on this earth that anyone would have ever been this happy to see him.
"You ok, pet?" Spike asked in a whisper.
"I am now" Buffy smiled.
Spike leaned forward and placed his lips on her brow. She closed her eyes and drowned in the warmth of his lips. Warmth. That is something she wasn't exactly sure she'd ever get used to. She never would have guessed in a million years that the man standing before her would end up with a warm body, a heartbeat and a soul. The soul was shocking enough but this was beyond her wildest dreams. She felt like she wanted to hold him forever and never let him go.
He pulled away from her and the loss she felt almost made her start crying again. They sat back down on the kitchen stools to finish their cups of hot chocolate before they got cold.
"Uh, we should really get started on training tomorrow. I've found I can hold my own in a fight against psycho but human ex-boyfriends but when it comes to demons, I've never felt so weak."
"Not to worry." Buffy said. "We'll have you back to your old big bad fighting self in no time. I promise."
"I really appreciate this, Buffy."
She reached her hand across the table and held onto this hand. She couldn't stop staring at him. At that moment she realized how Spike must have felt when she had been brought back. She remembered seeing the tender look on his face the first time he saw her. He automatically assumed that she was the buffybot. Why wouldn't he? The chances of something like that happening once was beyond the realm of reality but for it to happen twice was almost unimaginable. For that reason, she stared intently at him with complete fear that she will suddenly wake up and the moment will be over.
"Buffy? Are you sure you're ok?" He asked after noticing her staring at him.
"Yeah. Sorry. I know I'm staring but I just need to make sure you're really here."
"This isn't another nightmare, Buffy. I really am here."
"They weren't nightmares. A dream with you in it could never be a nightmare." Buffy admitted softly.
Spike blushed slightly. It was a vision Buffy was surprised to see. The slight redness on his cheeks made him look boyish and vulnerable.
"It's been a long day." Buffy said, interrupting his embarrassed expression. "We should get some sleep. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."
"Right. Just point me to the way of the sofa and I'll be out like a light in no time." Spike grinned.
"Uh, I was kind of hoping that you'd stay in my room tonight." Now it was Buffy's turn to look embarrassed. "When I realized you might still be alive, one of the first things I thought of were those nights we spent just holding each other. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've missed that."
"Lead the way." Spike said, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Buffy stood and held her hand out to him. He took it and entwined their fingers as they made their way to the bedroom.
"I see you finally got rid of those New Kids On The Block posters." Spike chuckled as he looked around her new bedroom.
"Yeah, well I remembered how nice you decorated your crypt and I opted for a more sophisticated look." She took his hand and led him over to the bed.
She saw how his eyes had been fluttering closed and she knew he was just as exhausted as she was. Neither of them wanted to even bother changing out of their clothes. They lay upon the bed and wrapped their arms around each other. She felt like he was still too far away, so she moved as close as she could to him. They finally felt at peace when their arms were tightly snug around each other's backs and their legs comfortably entwined.
He could feel her warm breath on his neck and she could feel his. She slightly pulled back and settled her forehead on his and looked deeply into his eyes. Her lips find his in a gentle and sweetly soft bedtime kiss. After pulling away, he made the move this time and kissed her again just as softly has she had kissed him.
"Goodnight, Buffy."
"Goodnight, Spike"
With that, they fell asleep together silently wishing that there would be a thousand more nights exactly like this one.
To Be Continued.....
Additional Note: If you are enjoying this story, please review. There has been a bit of a lack of reviews for this story and I like to know that there are people out there reading and enjoying it. Reviews give me the boost I need and helps me to write faster. I am currently working on another story called "Married By America" also, so my updates may be a little slower than usual but hearing from you makes me do everything I can to find more time to work on my stories. Suggestions for future chapters are appreciated. Thanks for reading!