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"Do you...do you remember the day of the last battle that took place in Sunnydale?" Buffy looked at Spike, who was looking at Alex, who was busy touching Spike's face with his hands.
"Kinda hard to forget, the best day of my entire existence, it was," he said. Pulling her closer and looking into her eyes, he added, "I remember it." Then dipping his head but never breaking eye contact, he merely whispered, "Hell, I dream about it." He raised his hand up to cup her cheek. His emotions were on overtime and he couldn't let slip the moment. He was sitting next to Buffy, his son was sitting on his lap; he let his emotions pour. "I think about it every single waking moment. It's a reel that never stops, pauses, just repeats over and over again in an endless cycle... and each and every time it replays, I get to fall in love with you all over again."
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-Sunnydale High School, May 22, 2003-
Sunnydale's final and greatest battle to ever take place was only to be remembered by a brave few.
"Welcome to Sunnydale High," Robin Woods announced, and as if leading the others on a field trip, he instructed, "there's no running in the halls, no yelling, no gum chewing. Apart from that, there's only one rule." He stopped walking, and turned to look at the crowd, "If they move, kill them."
After orders, directions, and last minute questions were answered, people started drifting off to their designated positions.
"We have about an hour till Willow's ready." Giles informed the departing crowd.
Buffy joined the group still standing in the hallway: Willow, Xander, Giles. They looked at each other in heavy silence. They knew that yet again, this was it. Buffy broke the ice, "So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?" she asked in a conversational tone.
"Nothing strenuous," Willow answered with a grin at the corners of her lips. She remembered the morning when the question was first asked so long ago, but still it somehow felt like it was yesterday.
"Well, mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind." Xander offered, also remembering.
"I think we can do better than that." Giles added, giving into the feeling of déjà vu.
"I was thinking about shopping, as per usual." Buffy put in.
The four continued in conversation till they met Giles' eyes--letting him know that it was time. In turn, Xander, Willow, and Buffy left to walk down the hall together, an exchange similar to what happened a lifetime ago; the morning after they averted their first Apocalypse.
"The earth is definitely doomed." Giles said to himself looking at the three walking down the empty hall till one by one each passed the other and headed into a separate corridor. He then turned and walked to a corridor of his own.
Buffy, the last one in the main hall finally turned, and was not surprised to see Spike waiting for her. A glance was all it took to say what she was thinking about.
"When I was in school I always wondered what teachers did in the faculty lounge."
"Ever figure it out?"
"Yeah, turns out this is where they go to relax and prepare for their next battle; handling teenagers. Hmmm… kinda like what were doing right now, only we get vampires. I think we got the lesser of the two evils."
Spike smirked at her quip.
Buffy inhaled at the sight. "God, I missed that." She looked into his eyes, reading him. "You know, we're going to win," Buffy said, matter-of-factly.
Spike nodded in reply.
Running her fingers through the soft hair behind his neck, "Spike I want you to know this is not a good bye or anything like that, think of it as a sneak preview of what's to come."
"Best trailer I've ever seen then."
"I love you, Spike" Cupping his cheek, and looking into the depths of his eyes.
"Run that by me again, don't think I heard right."
Pulling him closer, "I… love you. Do you believe me? Because I mean it… I love you, Spike."
"I believe you. I think I knew it before you said it… your eyes told me so." He said, not hiding his growing smile. He didn't care right then if he looked or sounded like a crazed lunatic, he was finally hearing what he always wanted to hear from the girl he loved.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," he whispered, his smile had left his face but his eyes still twinkled. Running his hand down her cheek, he brushed the hair that got misplaced and placed it behind her ear again. He added, "I love you too Buffy."
Buffy leaned in and Spike bent his head as she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"Shall we dance then?" Buffy whispered.
"Luv, we're going to dance like we've never danced before." He said, pulling her even closer and leaned down to kiss her neck, the spot that he knew would made her weak in the knees and hungry for more.
"Wait… we can't. We only have an hour till Will's ready to—"
"An hour that needs not go to waste. An hour is an hour. And every second that ticks by is a second not feeling like this," he captured her lips again.
"Good…hmmm…point."
"Beautiful… A fucking goddess," he murmured. Spike ran his hand down her body till he reached her bellybutton; there, he let his hand rest on the soft bit of exposed flesh. "this would be the first time since... but not even then." His mind raced on the very thought of what was to happen, and what had happened.
"Don't you even think about it."
"What?" he whispered, still caught up in his thoughts. He tensed, afraid that what just happened seconds earlier was a trick of his mind.
"I know what you're thinking about."
"Thinkin' what, luv?"
"Don't think about it," she placed her hand on his and guided him to the clasp of her slacks. "I want you to." Buffy knew that when he hesitated earlier he was thinking about the night that was filled with wrongs. She wanted to make sure he knew this was different.
He kissed her again.
Her slacks unclasped.
She could feel him breathe.
Pulling away from his lips to take in much needed air, "I nee… I need you… Spike."
He positioned himself in-between her open thighs.
"Say it again, Buffy."
"I love you."
Once Buffy and Spike's world came crashing down in a tumbling mess and right itself, Spike rolled them both over, crushing Buffy atop him.
"Wow, I think we just tipped the scales, and that's saying a lot given the past times were beyond great and practically untippable."
"Definitely, that was bloody fantastic. I think I'm ready to die a happy man now."
"Hey don't even think it pal. This is a sneak preview, remember?"
"Sorry pet, didn't mean... Don't you worry, love, I'm in this till the end."
"What's our time?"
"Oh God, it's been past an hour."
"Better get going then."
"Oh, do we have to? I just wanna bask in all this with you. I mean couldn't you just be all brave and vampirey and talk to the friendly Turok-Hans, and ask them if they could wait a couple more hours or a couple days even," she joked, already pulling her clothes on.
"Come on luv, love to but-- 'sides there will be plenty of time after."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Ready?"
"Ready."
Stepping out of the lounge hand in hand they walked toward the oncoming battlefield.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Say it again."
"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you Spike," she said with a smile. Her smile widened at the sight of him looking so unbelievably happy and even more so because she meant it.
"Right then, now we can go."
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TBC...
A/N(s): Yes, I borrowed from the actual script to write parts of the flashbacks. Thanks to buffyworld for use of their transcripts.
