Chapter 31

Flashback

"In the binding of yourselves have you created life anew. Step forth, therefore, into that new life and rejoice in your love."

They couldn't take their eyes off each other. Their fingers were lightly touching, bound together by the thin cord that now bound them.

"In the power of your love, I do pronounce you..."

They both giggled happily and their wedding party stopped trying to stifle their happy laughter.

"Wife and wife. I am happy to present to you, Willow and Tara."

The small gathering burst into applause and the newly wedded couple turned to face their onlookers. They raised their bound hands in the air and a squeal of happiness escaped Willow. She turned to her wife and kissed her gently on the lips before taking her flowers from Buffy and walking down the white pathway and to the waiting car at the edge of the park.

When they were in the car and driving off, people dispersed, going to their own cars and heading to the hall for the reception. Buffy walked over to Spike, who was standing with her mother, and looped her arm through his.

"Ready, Freddy?"

"Wasn't that beautiful?" Joyce asked. Dawn put her arm around her mother's waist and laughed softly as they watched Joyce's eyes well up with tears again.

"It's all she's been doing since the ceremony started," Spike told them.

"I have not," Joyce argued before she rolled her eyes and nodded. "Okay, I have but it was..."

"Beautiful?" Buffy joked.

"We best be going," Spike pointed out. "You know you want to go over your speech another fifty times before you give it."

"Shut up. It was not fifty times."

"Whatever you say, pet. Whatever you say."

"We'll see you over there," Dawn called to them as she led Joyce to their car.

"It was nice, wasn't it?" Buffy asked as they walked to the truck.

"Beautiful is a very appropriate word."

"Yeah," she agreed absently.

He unlocked the door and opened it for her and helped her in. She was still staring into the distance when he got on the driver's side and he furrowed his brow, not knowing what was going through her head.

"You alright, luv?"

"Uh...yeah, fine." She shook her head slightly and looked at him, smiling lightly. "Let's go."

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

Buffy cleared her throat and felt her palm grow wet as she held the microphone. Her eyes scanned the small party and she met Spike's, finding comfort in the small nod he gave her. "The great Amy Bloom once said, 'Marriage is not a ritual or an end. It is a long, intricate, intimate dance together and nothing matters more than your own sense of balance and your choice of partner'. I have the good fortune to call Willow and Tara two of my dearest friends. There are no two people who have a better sense of themselves and each other and it goes without saying that neither would have found a partner more fitting than the other."

She glanced out at the crowd before turning her attention solely on the now married couple. "I feel extremely lucky to have watched the two of you fall more in love as the years have passed. To have watched you grow together and overcome obstacles. You made me believe that this love thing could be very easy if you just let it. I thank you for that. I thank you for letting me see what it's all about. And I'm sure my surprisingly patient boyfriend thanks you, as well, because if it weren't for being able to see with my own two eyes how well love can work, who knows if I ever would have allowed myself to really feel it."

She held her glass up to the couple. "As was said in your ceremony, for as long as love shall last..." Everyone sipped his or her champagne. "I have no doubt it will last forever."

She walked over to Willow and Tara, slightly shaking and let them wrap their arms around her in a tight hug.

"That was lovely, sweetie. You're so nervous. Calm down, it's all over," Tara soothed.

"Was I swallowing my tongue?" Buffy asked, anxiously.

"Huh?" Willow asked, suppressing her giggle.

"Spike kept telling me that it sounded like I was swallowing my tongue."

"No, it was perfect," Tara reassured her.

"Oh, good. I can't wait to hear what Xander is going to say."

"Probably something completely inappropriate regarding that dream he had about the three us in the ice cream truck he used to drive," Willow answered.

"Oh, I hope not," Buffy chuckled.

"It was beautiful, Buffy, but..." Willow trailed off.

"But what?" Buffy asked, her voice catching, silently admonishing herself for whatever she did wrong.

"Who's the great Amy Bloom?"

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled shyly. "I pulled a you. I googled love quotes and that popped up."

"You googled?" Willow asked, beaming proudly. She wrapped her arm around her shoulder and smiled at Tara. "Love isn't the only thing we taught this girl."

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"Have I told you how gorgeous you look today?" Spike asked, as he dipped her slowly and brought her back up.

"Yes, but I never get tired of hearing it when you say it in that low, sexy voice that makes my skin all tingly."

"Does it now?"

"You know that it does," she said, swatting his arm lightly. "Did I tell you how gorgeous you look today?"

"Actually, no."

"You look good enough to eat."

"Is that a promise?"

"Definitely." Buffy gave him her best sexy smirk and a flirty wink of the eye.

"Could I cut in?" They turned to see Willow standing beside them.

"Sure, but who are you taking?" Spike asked.

"Buffy, of course."

"That would be my choice, too, pet." He held Buffy's hand out to Willow and walked away, glancing back to see Buffy staring at his retreating form.

"Did you decide?" Willow asked, breaking Buffy away from her good Spike thoughts.

"Yes."

"And?"

"It's a go."

"Is he going to freak?"

"I hope so," Buffy told her.

"When?"

"Tonight, I think. It's time."

"That it is, my friend." They smiled at each other before separating, going to find their respective partners.

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"I thought there would be more..."

"More what?" Cordelia asked.

"More hot lesbian loving," Xander answered. "I'm kind of disappointed."

"Will you ever change?" she asked, clearly exasperated.

"No." He thought for a minute. "And you wouldn't want me to."

"Excuse me?" she asked, trying hard for a bitchy demeanor but cursing her rapidly beating heart.

"You heard me, Miss Chase."

Cordelia stepped away from him. "Thanks for the dance."

"That not go as well as you hoped?"

Xander turned to see Spike standing there, holding out a bottle of beer to his friend.

"I wasn't trying-"

"The hell you weren't, Harris."

"She's with Lindsey so it doesn't matter."

"It always matters. Always."

"Well, aren't we full of that good old fashion optimism tonight."

"What can I say? Weddings bring my inner git," Spike shrugged.

"When are you taking Buffy for that walk?" Xander asked.

"Soon..."

"You should wait until you're home and in bed."

"Hey, now. No Buffy in bed comments from you," he said, lightly but with just enough force that Xander said nothing more. The hurt look that flashed over Xander's face didn't go unnoticed by Spike and he instantly felt like an idiot. "Sorry. Just nervous."

"It's not like you haven't done this before," Xander joked.

"Believe me, I know, but this is it. I won't do it again if she-"

"She will."

"How can you be so sure? I'm not even sure."

"I know Buffy. She will," Xander stressed.

"Here's to hoping," Spike muttered, clinking his bottle to Xander's lightly.

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

"Mmm..." Buffy moaned against his lips. She shivered slightly as his hands moved up and down her sides, slowly enough to drive her crazy. Not wanting to remove her mouth, she mumbled, "We should get back in there. Help or something."

"No," he answered, moving his mouth down to her earlobe and biting it lightly. Her fingers dug into his lower back and he groaned in response, bucking his hips against hers.

"Spike..."

"I know." His hands went further and began to lift her dress until Buffy's hands covered his and pushed his away.

"No..."

"Yes."

"We're in the coatroom."

"Look at me not give a flying fuck." He pulled on her dress again but her hands stayed. He lifted his head to look at her. "We're not helping to clean up a wedding. That's why the hall hired people."

"I meant Will and Tara...gifts and stuff."

"That's very convincing, luv. Don't you want..." He trailed off as just one of his hands reached under her dress and he ran a finger up the front of her thong.

"Oh, god, yes," she whispered, letting the slight touch wash over her. "No, wait, no. Not here."

"Yes, here."

"It's a-"

"Coatroom. Perfect place if you ask me."

"Someone could come in."

"We'll be vewy, vewy quiet then."

"You just did Elmer!"

"I'm hoping to do you."

"You always know just what to say to break my resolve."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, but let's go over..." Buffy grabbed his hand and brought him to the back of the room. She patted the partition that blocked off a portion of the room. "This should hide us."

"Maybe I didn't want to hide."

"Maybe I'll just leave right now..." She backed away, smiling a little, knowingly and waited for him to reach out to her. When he did nothing but watch her back away, she stopped and put her hand on her waist. "Aren't you going to stop me?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"But...you always stop me."

"Or you always come back. I was waiting for you to come back." He held out his hand to her and she walked to him.

"Sit," she ordered. He raised an eyebrow but sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. He watched her walk over and smirked when she placed her legs on either side of him, lifted her dress and slowly lowered herself to the floor. She rested on his thighs, her hands instantly going to the button of his pants and undoing them. When he tried to move her to the floor, she pushed his hands away. "At least if we're caught, we can feign that we're just sitting here with me straddling you. They may not believe it but it's easier to accept than me on my back, legs tied around your waist and you..."

"Say it."

"No, I'm not going to say it," she told him with a blush. She stroked his erection lightly, making him shift his position, growing frustrated. "Impatient, much?"

"Come here," he growled, grabbing her waist and lifting her onto him.

"God..."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far..."

"Shut up and-"

"And what? Say it, luv."

She wiggled her hips, causing them both to moan as he went deeper. "You say it."

He stilled her moving body and looked her in the eye. "Say. It."

Her breath caught in her chest and she leaned forward, her lips brushing his ear. "Fuck me, Spike."

"I knew you could do it."

"Can you?"

"You challenging me?"

"Always, baby, always."

They moved together slowly and Buffy wondered how sometimes quickies became slow and vice versa. Anyone could walk in and sure they were hidden but that was never a guarantee.

"Do you...know how...bloody wonderful you are?"

"I have a...vague idea."

"You're going to be my wife," Spike told her, his voice strong with emotion.

"Yes," Buffy breathed out. "Yes, Spike."

"Buffy..."

"There...don't move...oh, god...Spike...Spike...Spike!" Her hands went to his shoulders and she began to shake him.

"Why...are you..."

"Spike, wake up!"

Spike shot his head up and blinked rapidly. He looked around and saw the hall was deserted.

"You sleep like the dead," Buffy told him, sitting on his lap.

He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. "Good dream."

"Yeah?" She shifted herself and felt the evidence of said good dream. "Want to tell me about it? I was wondering what all the whimpering was about."

"I don't bloody whimper."

"You were so going, 'mmm' and 'ahhh' and 'ehhmmhh'," she demonstrated.

"I do not go ehhmmhh. I don't even know how to do that."

"You just did," she said with a bright smile.

"It can wait until we get home."

She rubbed lightly against him. "Can it?"

"Are you trying to kill me, pet?"

"No, I'm trying to get you to tell me about this good dream."

"We were in the coatroom."

Buffy's eyes widened and her hand went to her mouth to hold in her giggle. "We were having sex in the coatroom?"

"Yeah..."

"And that's it?"

"Yeah..." he muttered with a shrug.

She stood up and straightened her dress. "Well, everyone's gone. Thanks for all that non-help, by the way."

"You could have woken me up. I would have-"

Her lips cut him off in a soft kiss. "I know." She started to walk away and turned slowly to look at him. "Are you coming?"

He nodded and got out of his chair. He clasped his hand in hers and she started walking towards the entrance. When he started to walk to the door, he felt his arm pull him in another direction.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to the coatroom," she said with a wink.

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Buffy couldn't believe how nervous she was as she waited for Spike to come to bed. This is crazy, Buffy. She told herself to be quiet. Something had to be done and it was apparently up to her to take the bull by its horns. She fingered the box under the sheet and took another deep breath. This is easy. It's not a big deal. No. Big. Deal.

Spike entered the room, flashing her a quick smile before he threw his clothes in the hamper. Yeah, Buffy, really easy. The butterflies in her stomach decided to flutter a hundred times over as he made his way to their bed.

"You alright, luv?" She could only nod. "You sure? You look like a deer caught in headlights."

"No, no, I'm fine."

Spike leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek before turning around. She heard the bedside table drawer open and she wondered what he was doing.

"Spike?"

"Buffy," he started, turning around again. "Today was good."

"Today was great. Lots of fun was had, Will and Tara were thrilled and it was all so...lovely."

"That it was..." He wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her over to him. "Your speech-"

"I know. They said it was good but I left out so much of it. I just couldn't think when I got up there and when I went to look at my crib sheet, the ink was smeared from the condensation of the glass I was holding because I stupidly didn't put the paper in my non-glass holding hand-"

"Pet? It was great. They loved it. You said...you said something about me being surprisingly patient."

"Oh! Well, yeah, you are."

"You know why, right?"

"Um, sure...because you love me," she answered. "Right?"

"Yes, right but it's more than that." He stopped talking and after a few minutes of silence, Buffy reached her hand out to touch his face.

"Spike? Waiting here."

"You're my passion, Buffy. You're...everything. You keep me grounded, you keep me high, you excite me and infuriate me, you love me like no one ever has and I know like no one ever will. You are my soul, my light. I could wait for the rest of my life for you but-"

"Spike-"

"Buffy-"

"Will you marry me?" they asked at the same time. Two sets of eyes went wide when they realized what the other had asked and then two brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" They did it again.

Buffy put her hand to his mouth. "Did you just ask me to...?"

Spike nodded and Buffy slowly removed her hand. "Did you just ask me to...?"

She nodded, a smile breaking out on her lips before it fell away and she looked at him seriously. "You said you weren't going to ask again until a regular, boring day came along."

"It was a regular, boring day."

"Oh, do you go to many lesbian handfasting rituals?"

"I got tired of waiting." He reached behind him and brought his arm back, holding out a small black box. "I've had this for so long...You might not even like it anymore."

She mimicked his motions and held a box to him. "I wasn't sure what to get you and Larry was of no help."

They each took their respective boxes and opened them. Spike quirked an eyebrow but said nothing while Buffy squealed when she saw the ring she had her eye on. It was simple, as she never wanted anything extravagant. It was a pear shaped diamond with a smaller diamond on both sides set on a white gold band. She couldn't believe he remembered or had even seen that she had noticed it.

"Spike, I saw this ring almost two years ago."

"I know."

"I can't believe Larry still had it." He didn't say anything and her mouth formed in an 'o'. "You didn't get it from him. Don't worry, I won't say anything."

"I did buy it from him." She tilted her head in confusion. "A week after we went."

"What?"

"You said you didn't want me to ask again after War...after the incident. When we went to the store for Dawn's present, I saw you look at it and I went back and started paying for it."

"How long have you had this in your possession?"

"A year."

"A year, Spike?"

"We're not going to fight now, are we?"

"No, it's just...you should have...you know what? It's not important."

"You never answered me, Buffy." He looked at her quickly before looking down at the bed.

She put a finger under his chin and lifted his face to hers. She kissed him and softly said, "Of course it's yes, Spike." She leaned back and held the box to him. "Will you put it on?"

She couldn't count how many times she had seen him smile over their years together but she had never seen him smile like that. If she had known he would have looked the way he did, she would have said all those years ago. His whole face was alight with happiness and his eyes were twinkling, the bluest she had ever seen them. She could feel his hand shaking as he held hers and her fingers wrapped around his palm in a comforting squeeze. He slid the ring on her finger and kissed her finger after it was on.

"Hey, you didn't answer me," she said.

"I'll have to think about it. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my bachelor life-style." He took the thick silver band from the box and turned it back and forth in his fingers. It looked like a ring he used to have that he had lost. "Put it on."

"You like it?" He nodded. "I didn't know what to do. There's no engagement ring for men but I saw this and it reminded me of that ring you had that you belly-ached about losing for six months."

"I did not belly-ache."

"You know you did."

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you ask?"

She rolled her eyes and gave him a look that made him feel silly for asking such a question. "I didn't know when you were going to ask again and helping Will and Tara, I wanted it. I was tired of people wondering why we weren't married yet or asking when we were going to get married. I wanted to stop introducing you as my boyfriend and introduce you as my husband. I want to hear you introduce me as your wife. I want your children, I want a home with a stupid picket fence and a dog...I want to move forward in all aspects of life and I want it all with you."

"Buffy."

"I love you, Spike, and I didn't know when you were going to ask again, if you ever were. I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands."

"Thank you," he replied quietly.

"No, thank you for everything. I don't think I could ever really tell you-"

"You don't need to. I know," Spike interrupted. "I-"

The phone ringing cut him off and Buffy turned to answer it.

"Hi, Mom. You'll never believe what's happened!...What? How did you...oh." She frowned at Spike and he ducked his head, hiding his smile. "Of course I said yes, Mom. I have to go."

"There was supposed to be a plan, luv," he explained when she turned back to him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's why she knows but I fell asleep-"

"How you ever fell asleep during a wedding...Ooh! Don't you even think about doing that at our wedding."

"You'll just have to keep me busy," he said, wiggling his eyebrow.

"How ever shall I do that?"

"Let me show you..."

End Flashback

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tbc...