New Beginnings

New Beginnings

Part 14

Things eventually settled down over the next couple of weeks. Spike had moved the few items he wanted from his crypt into Joyce's room, which had quickly grown to be Spike's room. His goodbyes to his former home were brief. There wasn't much he would miss about the old place.

The Summers' daughters hastily replaced the old refrigerator after several heated arguments over the smell of blood seeping into the milk and cheese, among other things. Buffy had originally thought of putting a dorm size fridge in his room, but then strangely changed her mind when it felt too much like isolating Spike from the family. Ergo, a brand new, shiny appliance, complete with a half dozen boxes of baking soda.

Willow sat Giles down the day after Buffy's awakening. The discussion that ensued may have been intense for a while, but the red headed witch managed to calm the Watcher's anger and smooth away most of his misgivings for William the Bloody. For Xander, she had to take a slightly different approach. She, Tara and Anya ambushed him, forcing him to listen to reason.

Meanwhile, back at the Summers' home, things had grown more comfortable than Spike or Buffy would have ever expected. Spike had quit smoking once Buffy started dipping his cigarettes in holy water. And thus was borne a long tradition of practical jokes that served to garnish their lives. The vampire's response to that trick was to replace the Ragu Spaghetti sauce with month old blood. The next week, Buffy and Dawn gathered up a few gallons of holy water with which to do the household laundry. Once Spike realized what was giving him the burning rashes, he pulled out all the stops. Buffy found various demon organs in her pillow case. Spike lay down to find crosses under the fitted sheet. Buffy received a panicked call from Willow demanding to know if her pregnancy was true. And so it went. Each trying to out do the other. It just didn't seem natural to be too cordial to each other. Once the animosity and blood lust was a thing of an era gone by, they felt compelled to replace it with something else. They never really hurt each other. They only managed to gall the other just enough to elicit a response.

And this is how they grew closer.

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"Are you nervous?"

"Hell, yeah, I'm nervous. Remind me again why I'm doing this."

"Because you love her." Giles smiled warmly as he straightened the groom's tie. "And besides. It has taken forever for you to get to this point and I think we all agree that it is time you two wed."

***

Buffy stared out the window in just her slip, bra and panty hose.

"What's the hold up, Buffy?"

"Just thinking."

"Don't worry. You did fine at the rehearsal. It's no biggie." Willow put one hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, it is a biggie. It's the biggest biggie. This changes everything."

"The first of our Scooby Gang to get married." Willow lost herself in contemplation for a moment. "Ooh. Sends shivers down your spine. Does this mean we're," she swallowed hard, "adults now?"

"'Fraid so, Will."

***

"You look great, Spike!" Dawn ran up to the vampire, who now had mostly brown hair. He held the girl at a distance.

"I look like a bleedin' pansy is what I look like. Xander made me wear this."

"Well, it wouldn't do to walk down the aisle in your usual, now would it?" She crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow, a trick she studied long and hard to learn to imitate from her favorite vampire.

"Yeah, well," Spike looked down at her feet for a second, then scanned up her whisper blue satin dress. "You look…you're…"

"Bloody stupid. Yeah. I know." She grabbed the edges of the material, flaring them out with a disappointing look on her face. "I look like I belong in the Miss Airhead Pageant."

A pale hand grabbed one of hers. "No. You're…lovely."

She blushed, then punched at him halfheartedly. "Shut up."

Someone from the hallway yelled, "Let's get this show on the road!"

"I guess this is it then." Dawn turned to leave but hesitated. "If you think I look good, just wait until you see Buffy."

She didn't see it. She knew she wouldn't. But she also knew that it was there. That look of wanton desire that only came when he thought about her sister.

***

"Oh, would you please stop fidgeting?"

"I can't help it." He leaned over to his best man. "You still got those rings, right?"

"For the fifth time, YES! Now shush. Here she comes."

There was no organ. There was no flower girl. There was no photographer. There was no 'here comes the bride'. But the occasion could not have been more perfect. She walked down the aisle like a princess destined to be with her prince charming forever more. Once she reached him, they grasped each other's hands and held on as if for dear life. The longing looks in their eyes finally waned and they turned toward the judge.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We are all gathered here today to witness the joining of this man and this woman in wedlock."

Dawn leaned secretively to Willow and whispered, "fifteen bucks he has no clue what kind of people he's marrying." Willow glared at her before returning her attention to the judge.

"Will the couple please join hands?" They did.

"Now, the rings." Giles reached in one pocket, then another. "Hold on. Just a moment." He patted himself frantically before finally finding the two gold rings in the original pocket.

"Okay, who's bloody idea was it to give the rings to the old man?" Giles responded with a gentle 'shut up, Spike' as he thrust them at the groom.

"Very good. Now repeat after me. I, Xander Harris."

"I, Xander Harris."

"Do take this woman, Anya…um, just Anya."

"Take Anya…"

***

Spike's hearing blanked out after that. In fact, the whole world dropped away once he really caught sight of Buffy. Her dress was a bit on the tacky side, which was only to be expected, judging from the bride's taste. But, he'd be damned if she didn't fill it just perfectly. She chose to leave her hair down that night. It was curled just so, and it cascaded off her shoulders like sunlight on the still ocean. Her makeup was minimal but accentuated her gorgeous hazel eyes. And those lips. So red and inviting. He tore his eyes away and scanned down her body. The dress left everything to the imagination, but he already had ever curve and line memorized. His mind wandered to the last time he had seen those hips and that waist emphasized just so. It was last week – in the kitchen. She had just come from training and complained about it being too hot. He had taken a hand full of ice and dropped it right down the front of her skimpy tank top. Before she could do the same in retaliation, he had seen her erect nipples through the thin material, and chose to retreat to the living room. She had asked what was wrong, but how could he possibly tell her? It had taken her months to go from hating him to trusting him with her sister and her life. Then, it took literally seeing him from the inside for her to let him into her heart. If he pushed things too hard, she was likely to back slide and accuse him of, well, the same things Xander once had on that fateful day.

So, Spike took himself, and his growing sexual frustration, elsewhere.

***

"I now pronounce you man and wife."

Anya quickly corrected him, "Husband and wife!"

"Yes, of course. You may now kiss…the groom."

Xander turned to his new wife, Mrs. Anya Harris, and kissed her like he had never kissed her before. When they separated, the entire wedding party looked upon them and saw tears streaking down Xander's face.

To Be Continued