title: Marriage, Sunnydale-Style
author: Heather (heather@hella-good.org)
rating: R
spoilers: none...completely an au/fantasy fic except for things borrowed from
the Buffyverse (season 1-7) that are twisted to fit in this universe.
disclaimer: If I actually owned anything, I probably wouldn't be doing this :)
summary: After almost 10 years of dating, Buffy and Spike finally find
themselves in the midst of planning a wedding and remembering the long journey
that got them there.
a/n: I'm so glad you have liked the story. It's such a dandy feeling. My beta kind of left me suddenly so I hope that I've put my English degree to good use and there's not a lot of mistakes. However, sometimes the mind and eye play tricks on you, especially when you know what's supposed to be there. Anyhoo, thanks again for the reviews here, at Crumbling Walls and Spuffy Archives. Very cool and much appreciated! Oh and Fifi Mash, next chapter...it's all about the lovin'. I've never written it so I'm a bit nervous but that's where it'll be. I was just taking my time. :)
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Chapter 21
"Giles?" Buffy called out to the seemingly empty library.
"Back here!"
"Back where?" She scanned the room and smiled when she saw his head pop out from behind one of the stacks on the second floor. "Did you get lost again?"
"Yes, very droll, Buffy. Someone actually needed me to find them a book as amazing as that is," Giles explained as he walked down the stairs.
"It must get very lonely in here. If it weren't for me and Will coming in here like the good old days, you'd have nothing to do." She took a seat at the long table. "Do you have a minute?"
"Of course," Giles said, taking a seat. "Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yeah, everything's great. Things are moving along quite nicely. It looks like I'm actually getting married in two months."
"I believe we're going to get the men's suits tomorrow. Is that still the plan?"
"Yup, Spike has to go to L.A. tonight for work and he will be bringing back the rest of the ushers, sans you and Xander, obviously."
"Has his co-worker come to terms with not being an usher?"
"Oh, Gunn? Yeah, he's apparently fine with it now. They're not that close so I don't understand where all the anger came from but hey, what are you going to do? Can't make everyone happy."
"That is certainly true," Giles agreed. They smiled at one another and Buffy looked away, lightly tapping her fingers on the tabletop. Giles saw that she was looking everywhere but at him and he didn't understand what had happened. "Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you need something? Or did you only want to talk of the suits?"
"Oh, right. Um, so I'm getting married."
"Yes, I believe we've covered that," he said, giving her a soft smile to continue.
"Well, the thing is, even if I could find my father, I'm not inviting him any way and I know I could ask my mom to do it but I've let so many traditional things go already and this is really important to both Spike and I." She looked at him briefly and went back to watching her hands tap the table nervously. "I know you already have the job as best man, but you're the closest thing that I have to a father and I was wondering...I was hoping that you would give me away."
Giles removed his glasses and began to wipe them absently with his ever-present handkerchief. He was afraid to speak. He was scared that if he tried, his voice would break under the emotional weight that he felt. He looked at her and saw that she was still staring intently at her hands. He could practically hear her thoughts of self-doubt as he sat there and said nothing.
"Oh, Buffy...that's...I, I'm afraid I have no idea what to say," Giles said, stumbling.
"A yes or no would be a really good start," Buffy told him, quietly.
"I would be honored."
Buffy breathed a sighed of relief. She slowly looked up at him and smiled. "I can't believe how nervous I was."
"Did you think I would say no?"
"Well, I didn't know..." Buffy trailed off, embarrassed that she actually did think that was a possibility.
"Of course, I wouldn't. Anything I could do for you and William, I would do. You are aware of that, yes?"
"Yes, I know but take into consideration my raging daddy issues and you get a nervous me asking you to be a daddy for a day," Buffy explained.
"Ah, I see. What if I had said no?"
"Obviously, I would have asked Snyder," Buffy told him in complete seriousness.
"Well, I'm sorry to have spoilt that plan," Giles said, chuckling.
"I suppose I can forgive you," Buffy teased lightly.
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The door jingled as Buffy walked through Sweet Me Off My Feet. She walked over to the display cases and had to control herself from purchasing all the pastry goodness. She walked into the back of the store where they kept the wedding cakes. She already had an idea of what she wanted for the cake part but she still hadn't made a decision on how she wanted it to look. She didn't know how much help Spike would be but she had insisted that he come, even though he put up quite a fight. He even went so far as to call Angel and asked him if he needed him to work that night. When he told Buffy he couldn't make it, she simply called Jonathan and changed the time to the afternoon.
"Hi, Buffy," she heard Jonathan greet her shyly.
She turned around and smiled warmly. "Hey, Jonathan. How are you?"
"Okay, busy, which is better than not being busy, I guess."
"Uh, yeah..." They stood there facing each other, not saying anything for a few minutes. He looked around, mouth puckered in a silent whistle and Buffy couldn't take it anymore. "Spike should be here any minute."
"Oh, okay, whenever is fine."
"I'm just going to..." Buffy pointed to the cakes and waved her finger around. Jonathan nodded and walked out of the room. "He didn't have to leave," she muttered to herself.
The door jingled and she turned around, only to see Xander standing at the front of the shop with his back to her. She smiled and walked over to him, grabbing him on the waist, which made him yelp out in surprise.
"Jeez, Buff, kill me," Xander said, holding his hand to his heart.
"What are you doing? Thinking of getting married...again?"
"Oh, wow, that's really funny. No, I need to get a desert."
"For what?"
"Uh, desert," Xander said, obviously stalling.
"Again I ask..."
"I have a dinner date. She wants cheesecake."
"A dinner date? Hmm...I wonder who that could be with," Buffy teased.
"No one you know. Just some girl that you have never met and probably won't because with my luck, it will go the way the rest of them go-"
"Xander, you sound like I used to," Buffy interrupted. "So the dinner date isn't with Cordy?"
"Huh? No! Nope, no Cordy involved..."
"Okay, if you say so."
"Well, why would I say so if it weren't so?"
Buffy only shrugged in response. She didn't want to badger him into admitting it and she instinctively knew that need to keep the beginnings of a relationship private. She had done it with Spike when they finally got together. The building, or rebuilding as the case may be, went a lot smoother when there weren't constant questions. She looked out the window and saw Spike walk by it and into the bakery.
"Hey, pet." He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "Xander...what are you doing here?"
"I was afraid you wouldn't show. Called in for back-up," Buffy joked.
"I told you I'd be here, I'm here."
"God, there's no need to be snappish about it. I thought we got over the whole 'I'll be an ass about the wedding preparations' thing last night after the invite."
"I don't want to interrupt, but I do want to interrupt," Xander said to Buffy and Spike. He turned to the counter and began slapping the bell repeatedly and yelled for Jonathan.
Jonathan came running in from the back room, covered in flour and looking like he swallowed a canary. "I'm sorry. There was a cake...incident. What can I get for you, Xander? Another Strawberry Cheesecake?"
"Ooh, another?" Buffy asked, smiling.
Xander shot her a dirty look and said, "Actually, I'll take the Vanilla Cheesecake this time."
"Good luck with your cake, Xander. Come on, Spike," Buffy said, grabbing Spike's hand and dragging him to the back.
"Uh...you, too!" Xander called after them. He looked at Jonathan and said, "Whatever you do, go along with whatever Buffy says." Xander shot him a big smile, grabbed his cheesecake and quickly left the store.
"Is there a problem?" Buffy asked Spike.
"No, I was about to ask you the same thing," Spike shot back.
"You knew this was something we had to do but if you don't want to be here, then just go."
"Really?"
"No!" Buffy yelled. "We are going to find a god damn wedding cake today and you are going to help me find it or else there is going to be major repercussions!"
"Such as?" Spike asked, smirking.
"Oh, I'll think of something," Buffy said, taking her time to look him up and down, settling on his crotch.
"You'll only be hurting yourself, luv," Spike said, smirking.
"I'm just as friendly with my hand as you are," Buffy stated and turned away to look at the cake catalogue on the other side of the room.
"Hey now," Spike called out, walking over to her. "You can't just say something like that and leave a man standing there without a complete explanation of what you mean." He ran his tongue along the ridge of his teeth and added, "And I mean complete."
"You're insane," Buffy said, laughing. She took a step closer to him, placing her hand on his stomach, licked her own lips and smiled up at him. In a lowered voice, she said, "I have a whole system. Maybe I'll show you later on." She backed up a step, let her eyes go wide and slapped her hand to her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. You have to work, don't you? Aw, too bad for you."
"Are you two all set?" Jonathan asked, timidly.
"Yes."
"No. Give us a minute, would you, mate?" Spike watched Jonathan walk into the back room and advanced on Buffy. She backed up and soon felt the wall against her back. He stopped an inch away from her, placed both his hands on his wall beside her head and bent down, kissing her hard. "Sod work," he said against her lips, his voice so low and rough, it vibrated into her chest. "I like your idea better."
"And I like the idea of you being employed better," Buffy retorted, ducking under his arm and walking away. She glanced over shoulder and smirked at him, shaking her hips from side to side. He laughed and she turned back around. "Jonathan? We're ready!"
Jonathan practically ran out of the back, only to slow down before he crashed into Buffy. "Okay, great! Do you want to sit?" The nodded their consent and sat down at the small table. Jonathan grabbed one of the catalogues and placed it on the table. "So, do we know what kind of cake we want?"
"Chocolate," Buffy said, quickly.
"White," Spike said at the same time. They looked at each other, both with a puzzled expression on their faces. "I thought you wanted white."
"I thought you wanted chocolate."
"I'm not all that fond of chocolate. That's you, pet."
"No, you said-"
"If I can interrupt, I have a suggestion," Jonathan said with complete confidence. Gone was the Jonathan they all knew and now was a super-suave, in-command business owner. "I think a three-tier cake would be perfect. One part chocolate, one white and the third, smaller topping, the one you will shove into each other's faces at the ceremony, can be marbled white and chocolate."
Buffy and Spike looked at each other, a smile forming on Buffy's face. "That sounds great."
"What could we possibly do with three cakes?" Spike asked, exasperated. "There's no way in hell it's all going to get eaten if you're cutting down the guest list."
"Who told you that?" Buffy asked, her surprise evident.
"Willow, the other day. Not important. It seems excessive."
"Honey, it's a wedding. Everything is excessive," Buffy tried to reason.
"Okay, I hear what you're saying, Spike," Jonathan cut in. "We can have the two-tier then. The smaller can still be marbled and the bottom, larger portion can be half chocolate and half white."
"You can do that?" Spike asked.
"Sure, we can do anything," Jonathan reassured him, smiling.
"I'd like to see how you do that," Spike said, mesmerized by the idea.
"God, it's another onion blossom fascination," Buffy huffed.
"It's really quite simple," Jonathan began.
"Um, excuse me? We're picking out a cake and you have to get to L.A. so maybe you two can do the cake bonding thing some other time," Buffy said, smiling sweetly despite the tone of her voice. "The two-tier should be fine."
"Well, there's the most important part. Now," Jonathan said, as he opened up the book and turned it so Buffy and Spike could look at the pictures, "you just need to pick what you want it to look like. It doesn't have to be exact. We can always add, detract or do something completely different. It's up to you."
"Are those roses edible?" Spike asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"No..." Jonathan answered, trying to hold back his smile.
"How about the pearls?"
"Spike, it's decoration. We don't eat them," Buffy said, patting his leg.
"But if you can't eat it, what's the point? It's-"
"Excessive. We've already discussed that," Buffy interrupted. "It's just for show so people will 'ooh' and 'ahh' over it and we can gloat because we had a gorgeous wedding cake."
"It's all about the memories," Jonathan added.
"I'm hoping that I remember a little more than some bleeding cake," Spike said. "I don't get why it's necessary. And what is with those insipid looking figurines they put on top of the cake? Do we have to do that?"
"Do you realize you're whining?" Buffy asked, her smile returning. "We don't need any pearls. I would like some ribbon and roses-"
"It's a cake!" Spike yelled, shaking his head.
"And it's mine and it's what I want, right?"
"If I may, Xander gave me some advice before he left and I think I should give it to you, Spike. Go along with whatever Buffy says," Jonathan interjected.
"And who says Xander isn't the brightest bulb in the bunch?" Buffy asked no one in particular.
"Fine, get your roses and ribbons and whatever other unnecessary decoration for a cake that you can think of."
"Planned on it, regardless," Buffy told him, smirking.
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"That took a lot longer than I thought it would," Buffy commented as they walked through the front door of their apartment.
"Picking a cake took almost two hours. Do you see anything wrong with that?"
"Personally? No, but I can see that you do."
"I have to get ready for work," Spike told her, heading off to the bedroom.
"Hey, mister," Buffy said, walking after him. She grabbed his arm when she caught up to him. "What is going on with you today? You are like grumpiness personified."
"It's nothing." He shook her arm off and continued to the bedroom.
"It's so obviously something and if you think you can get away with that after all that Warren meddling you did, you are sorely mistaken," Buffy warned, following him.
"All this wedding stuff is beyond me, pet. I'm sorry," Spike shrugged, while he looked through the closet for a shirt.
"'Beyond you'? What does that mean? I thought you were all on board now."
"I liked the invitation, Buffy. It didn't mean I was suddenly gung-ho for all this..." He flitted his hand in the air, waving it around.
She took a deep breath, sat on the bed and closed her eyes. "Fine, then don't help anymore. I was trying to have this be our thing but if you really want nothing to do with it than I'd rather you didn't. I'm tired of all the snippiness." She opened her eyes and he was kneeling in front of her. He reached out his hand to touch her face and she moved her head away. "Just don't. Get ready for work. I think I'll go visit Mom or something..." She went to get up and he shot up, tackling her onto the bed. "So not the time for this."
He pinned her arms over her head, running his thumb along the top of one of her hands. "You listen to me. I just want to marry you. It's all I've ever wanted. Do you understand?" She nodded meekly. "I'm sorry I'm not jumping for joy about whether there's pearls on our cake but I honestly don't give a shit, Buffy. All I care about is me, you and this. The rest of it is rot. All I need is for that guy to say I pronounce you husband and wife and I'm done. Are you hearing me? Do you see where I am coming from?"
"Y-yes," Buffy said, breathlessly. He released her hands and she immediately moved them down, placed them on his chest and pushed him off her. She rolled with him and straddled his hips, shimmying a bit, making them both groan out load. "When do you have to meet Angel?"
"As soon as I get there." She moved back and forth slowly, lightly kissing his neck and worked her fingers under his shirt, lightly scratching him. "Fuck him."
"Or me, you mean," she offered, giggling.
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"You're late," Angel said as Spike walked through the door.
"For a very important date, I'm sure."
"If I ask you to be here by 7, I mean 7. I don't mean 8:30."
"You're lucky I showed up at all. Do you know what I just left at home?" Spike asked.
Angel flinched at the inference. "I am your employer, in case you have forgotten. A modicum of respect would be nice."
"But not completely necessary. You won't fire me."
"Don't be so cocky."
"It works so well for me, though," Spike retorted, smirking.
"I think telling you to get over yourself would just be a waste of breath. The husband gave us another couple of places that he thinks she's been going to." Angel threw a few matchbooks on the desk and nodded at them. "You need to go them, scope it out."
"You want me to hit all these places? I won't get home-"
"Until late," Angel interrupted. "Good thing you have a night job. You can sleep all day. Wes should be here soon, Gunn is out working a kidnapping with Gwen and Connor is in Sunnydale. So, yeah, you need to do this all by your lonesome. Can you handle it?"
"Sha, I think I can handle it," Spike grumbled as he picked up the matches. "She likes the classy places, eh?"
The office door opened and Spike heard "Well, I haven't seen you in some time". He turned and saw Wesley with a curvy brunette. This must be Faith. Wes must be doing something right.
"Wes," Spike acknowledged with a nod of his head. "And you, darling, must be Faith."
"Bet your sweet ass I am. Nice to meet you," Faith said, smiling as she held out her hand. He took her hand and shook it. "So you're B's fiancé, right? Talk about hitting the jackpot."
"I am quite the lucky bloke," Spike concurred.
"Wasn't talking about her," Faith told him, smirking.
"Yes, well, although I do enjoy my girlfriend flirting with other men, I need to interrupt," Wes said. Faith grabbed Wes by his hair, yanking him down to her mouth, kissing him roughly and letting him go. "Uh, well...that was, uh..."
"You're very good for the old boy," Spike said to Faith, chuckling softly. "It's good to see."
"Don't tell me you're getting soft," Wes commented with a smile, knowing full well that Spike hated when someone called him that.
"You're treading, Sally."
"Okay, you're both big, strong virile men. Let's move on," Faith jumped in. "Buffy driving you insane with wedding prep or what?"
"She likes what she likes," Spike answered.
"I bet she does," Faith said, nodding knowingly.
"Suits tomorrow, right?" Wes asked.
"That's the plan. Why don't you come along with, sweets? I'm sure they can keep you company," Spike said to Faith.
"I'd rather watch you all try on the suits than sit around discussing flowers or some shit."
"Hey, I'm trying to run a business here," Angel told them. "Spike, I believe you have an assignment and you two, here's yours."
"You're working here now?" Spike asked, surprised.
"What the hell else am I going to do?" Faith questioned. "I'm an ex-con with anger management issues. I'm working on it."
"Do the getting to know you thing later. There's work to be done," Angel said, gruffly.
"Keep up this attitude and you're out of the wedding party," Spike warned.
"Oh, you mean I won't get to see you marry the love of my-" Angel stopped and looked at Spike briefly, who was looking at him in shock. "Uh, get out of here. Work, people. You need to do it in order for me to pay you." He quickly turned and went down the stairs to his apartment.
"That was fucking intense," Faith said. Spike and Wes turned to look at her both wearing expressions that screamed 'No shit, Faith'. Spike turned his attention to Wesley, who could only shrug at the questions in Spike's eyes. Spike shook his head and left the office, not turning to look back.
"Are you going to go talk to Angel?" Faith asked, nodding her head in the direction of the staircase.
"No, we have work to do. Best to just let him...work it out on his own," Wesley told her, taking her hand and leading her out.
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Spike opened the office door and stood in the foyer for a couple of minutes. He found the wife, got her to say all sorts of nasty things to him that he dutifully got down on tape and he left. Now he was back here, twirling the little cassette between his fingers, wondering if he should just drop it on the desk or give to Angel personally.
"Sod it," Spike muttered and headed down the stairs. He looked around, not seeing him in the bedroom or living room. He saw a light cast across the linoleum in the kitchen. He walked in and found Angel looking in the refrigerator. "Angel?"
Angel spun around quickly and shook his head. "Unless it's work related, I don't want to talk." He went back to staring into the fridge.
"I found her. Got her on tape. Quite the mouth on that one." Angel looked at him, an odd expression on his face. "Verbally...I don't know anything about the other and I don't appreciate the look that says that I do."
"Sorry," Angel grumbled, slamming the door shut. "That it?"
"Yeah, about that."
"Fine, just put the tape there. I'll talk to the husband tomorrow."
Spike threw the tape onto the table and said, "Whether you want to talk about it or not, I have something to say."
"Of course, you do. You couldn't possibly just leave well enough alone, could you? Always have to drive the point home," Angel said, gritting his teeth.
"Look, I'm not here to gloat, surprisingly enough. If you want out, I'd understand. I'm sure she would, too."
"I don't even know why you asked in the first place."
"It's a bit awkward, I'll give you that. The truth of the matter is, she considers you a good friend, a large part of her life...and you gave me a job so..."
"So you thought I'd want to stand there and watch her marry you?" Angel spat out.
"Hey, I'm trying to be all decent to you, which goes against everything I believe in so you should stop being an ass."
"Gee, thanks," Angel commented, sarcastically.
"She wants you there in any capacity, alright? Now I'm giving you the opportunity to bow out gracefully but you will still have to go to the wedding. It'll crush her if you don't."
"I don't think she'll be all that concerned about why I'm not there."
"Do you know her at all?" Spike asked, stunned.
"I thought I did."
"Well, I have news for you, then. You don't know bugger-all about her. If you don't show up, she will be hurt and she'll probably blame me. Now I won't stand for you to hurt her and I definitely won't tolerate being blamed because you can't get over it," Spike said, his anger coming to the surface.
"Spike, I'm done with this conversation, okay? Now leave," Angel said, brushing past him.
"No, we're not done. You need to tell me now if you're out. If you are, I have to find another guy to fill your place, come up with a valid reason as to why you're not going to be ushering to tell Buffy and find a way not to bloody kill you for being such a fucking ponce."
"You don't get to come in here and tell me anything. Do you like your job? Do you want to keep it?"
"You're threatening unemployment because I'm marrying your ex? You're quite the duffer, you know that?" Spike took a deep breath, walked towards Angel until he was only a few inches from him. He narrowed his eyes, clenched his jaw and forcefully said, "Show up tomorrow or don't. I don't care anymore. But you're the one who will be explaining it to her. We understand one another?"
Spike didn't bother to hear Angel's answer. He ran up the stairs and out into the night, got into his car and raced back to Buffy.
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