Date

As Spike exited the training room he finds her waiting for him in the empty hallway. He knows he's in hot water with her, but isn't sure exactly what he's going to say to her. Spike just knows that he doesn't want her to me mad at him. She stands with her arms crossed and an upset expression across her face that immediately softens Spike's mood. She reminds him of a little kid, pouting because she didn't get what she wanted.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why wont you come back with me, I mean I get that you want to find out why your back, but are you not coming back with me because you don't love me anymore, or are you gonna pull one of those 'I'm leaving for your own good' kinda things on me," Buffy says with righteousness rooted deep in her voice. Spike can tell that she wants answers and that they'd better be good ones.

"Pet, it's got nothing to do with you," Spike says as he nears Buffy trying to comfort her, she lets her arms fall out of their crossed position as he talks, and they both start to have a little more insight into what each other is thinking. "Buffy, I love you, I don't think there's ever been or will be anyone who affects me the way that you do, and I want to go back with you, believe me, I do, I want to be there living with you and the bit, it's more then I could have ever hoped for, and that will happen soon, but first… first I need to understand why I'm here, and not just why I'm alive, there has to be a reason why I'm here in LA. I'm going to figure things out and the second I do I'm gonna be on my way out to find you."

Buffy lets a small tear roll down her face and after a second Spike walks forward and embraces her in a hug, she holds on to him tightly and after she calms down they pull apart.

"How bout we do this, seeing as you'll be heading home tonight why don't you and I go do something, we can grab some food and head out to the beach, what'll say?"

"What, like right now, but the sun wont be down for another couple of hours."

"Don't fret bout that, we'll knick one of Angel's shiny cars with the special glass."

"Okay."

-Garage-

Spike leads Buffy down to the garage; she stops dead in her tracks when she the large line of expensive cars comes into view before her. She thinks that it must be the company garage, the people that work here must get paid pretty well, it's possible that the cars before her belong to many people and not just one particular vampire. However, Buffy knows that she's fooling herself, she knows that they are all Angel's, but she doesn't want to believe that he has changed so much that he cares this much about material things. She stands there with her mouth agape for a moment until she manages to actually form words.

"Are these all…"

"Angel's…yup, which means that we have our pick of any one of these baby's."

"Are you sure we shouldn't ask Angel first I don't want to…"

"Look pet, if you wanna go and ask Peaches, be my guest, but I personally don't want to deal with my brooding grandsire right now, now come on."

Buffy decides not to ask Angel, not that she didn't think that he'd let them borrow one of his many cars, but she didn't feel like explaining that the reason why they wanted to borrow one was so that they could go out. It's then that Buffy realizes just what she's doing; she's going out on a date with Spike. It seems odd, they had never really done anything like that before, they had never really done anything very couple-y in the past. And then Buffy catches herself mid-thought, they aren't a couple, she will be leaving soon, as in tonight soon, and she has no idea of when the next time that she will be able to see Spike will be.

"Well, Luv, which will it be?"

Buffy snaps out of her thoughts when she hears Spike's voice and realizes that he's waiting for her to pick one of the cars. She looks around the room, not being a big car person Buffy is basically making her choice of which looked the coolest basing her judgment on shiny-ness and color. She looks at each car and then finally her sight settles on a small black two seat convertible. Spike sees where her line of vision falls and smirks as he sees the small black car just big enough for the two of them.

"That one."

"Alright then."

-On the Road-

It's still light out when Buffy and Spike pull out of the garage so the top to the convertible has been left up to protect Spike from the sun. They sit mostly in silence; however it's a comfortable silence. Buffy stares out the window; it had been a long while since she had been to L.A. and as she looks at the buildings around her and thinks back to her childhood. When she had lived there, when her mom had still been alive, and her parents were still together, and she wasn't the slayer, so many memories flood through Buffy's mind of happier and simpler times.

"So Pet, what do you feel like eating?"

"huh… Oh, um, I don't know, whatever sounds good to you," Buffy says as Spike's voice draws her out from her daydream.

Spike glances at Buffy; she seems slightly distant, as if she had something on her mind and Spike finds that he can't help but pry.

"Buffy, Luv, is there something on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about when I was little, mom was still alive, and her and dad were still together, and the three of us and Dawn all lived here… you know what I do know where I want to eat, there's this ice-cream place a few blocks away where we all used to go and eat, think we could go there?"

"Sure thing pet, just point the way."

-Ice cream Parlor-

Luckily the front of the Ice Cream parlor is covered by the shade and Spike has no problem finding a spot to park and get in without any issues turning into a crispy critter. Buffy and Spike walk through the front doors of the ice cream place and look around. Buffy notices that it's pretty much the same as it had been when she was little, there had only been a few changes made, such as soft-serve ice cream on the menu and some newer tables and chairs. There are families and small children throughout the shop which Buffy and Spike pass as they look for a table; soon they find a booth and sit down across from each other.

"Well Buffy, what'll it be?"

"I'm thinking a banana split… with extra strawberries, oh, and make sure to get at least two cherries, Dawn and I always used to fight over who got the cherry so mom always made sure to get two."

"Alright then slayer, I'll be right back," Spike says as a large grin spreads across his face just before he leaves the table. Buffy watches as he makes his way up to the counter, realization that he's alive, that he's here with her, hits Buffy again, and then the heartache of knowing that she will be leaving that very night, her smile fades slightly, but she knows that he will come back to her someday.

-2 hours later-

Buffy and Spike still sit at their booth in the small shop, their ice cream has long since gone. They have been sitting there and talking for sometime now. Buffy tells Spike more about what things are like back home, and what she's been up to over the past few months. They reminisce about the past; about what things were like when there was still a place called Sunnydale, and they fought their weekly demons and returned to their normal lives.

"…And you were so cheating, I mean, I was drunk and it was obvious to me."

"Well yea, but you didn't have to scare off my winnings."

"whoa, I so didn't scare them… I set them free."

Spike simply gives her a look that makes Buffy blush slightly, so maybe it was a little silly to set the kittens free, it's not like they really could have made it that far; but still in her drunken state of mind it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Well, it was better then letting you eat them," Buffy says.

Spike chuckles slightly and glances down at the empty plastic ice cream container before him, he realizes just how much he's missed being around her. They had really had some good times. Spike glances back up to meet Buffy's sparkling green eyes, she has a slight smile on her face, and the two of them just stare at each other for a moment.

"Hey remember that time when we were out on your motorcycle and you nearly crashed us."

"I nearly crashed us! I seem to remember that going slightly differently."

"What! You're saying that it's my fault that you nearly crashed us into a tree!"

"No, I'm saying that you're the reason why I stopped paying attention to where I was going."

"What! That is so not true!"

"Do you even remember what you were doing at the time?" Spike leers at Buffy.

"…no."

"Well, you had…" Spike says as his eyes flutter and he shines a cocky grin at her, "well let's just say that it was distracting."

Buffy's eyes grow wide at the realization of what Spike's saying, she still can't remember just what she had done but she figures since Spike won't straight out tell her she probably shouldn't ask, at very least not in a family establishment such as this one. Spike laughs at the shocked face that she was making and soon Buffy is grinning at the situation as well. Spike glances out the window and notices that it's close to sunset.

"Well, pet it's getting late, what d'ya say we get out of here?"

"Sure."

-The Beach-

After they left the ice cream parlor Spike drives Buffy to the ocean and parks the car on a cliff that overlooks the crashing waves of the ocean. The timing is perfect as they get there just as the sun starts to lower into the water. The ocean water glimmers in shades of orange and red. Soon the sun soon is low enough for Spike to put the top of the convertible down and they sit there staring out at the sunset as if they had never seen one before. Buffy scoots closer to Spike and he wraps his arm around her, she lays her head against his chest and they rest there holding on to this moment for as long as possible.

"It's so beautiful. You know I can't remember the last time that I just sat and watched the sun set," Buffy says as she snuggles up to Spike.

"Come to think of it neither can I, but if I could I know it wouldn't be as good as watching it here with you."

Buffy smiles up at Spike then resumes watching the sun sink lower into the horizon. She wishes that they could just stay like this forever, and he's wishing the same exact thing. Then in the last few seconds before the sun has melted completely into the ocean Buffy and Spike turn to look at each other, their eyes meet, slowly Spike nears, he knows that he loves her, and he knows that she's leaving, but he needs to have this moment be perfect even if it would hurt more later. Buffy closes her eyes and their lips meet. Slow at first and then more passionate as her arms come up around his neck. Spike's hands find their way to her back and the kiss deepens. The sun had set completely before they pull away.

"God, Buffy, I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Spike smiles at her words and then nears for another kiss. All the while his mind keeps asking why it is that he isn't going back with her. Her fingers run through his hair as he kisses her under the stars and Spike knows that there is no other place in the universe that he'd want to be but in her arms. They pull away, panting slightly. Staring at each other in the cool ocean air, hearing the waves splash upon the rocks below, Buffy and Spike both feel like this is the most perfect moment in their lives.

"Buffy… why don't… why don't you and the bit come stay with me for a while, here in L.A. and then when I get everything figured out we'll all head back to England together?"

Buffy thinks about his proposition, she would do anything to be with him at that moment in time, but she has responsibilities and no matter how much she wants to stay there with him she knows that she's needed back home, just as he's needed here in L.A.

"Spike, I… I can't, Dawn has school, and I have to train the new slayers, I can't just walk away from all that, I'm needed there… and I understand now why you can't just get up and leave, and it's ok with me that you have to stay here for a little while; because I know that you'll come and find me when you figure everything out, and I'll wait for you."

Spike, though sad that she's declined his offer to stay with him smiles at what she's said to him. She'll wait for him; Spike now knows that he will do everything in his power to make it back to her. They kiss again under the twinkling stars and let their worries drift away. If only for the moment they pushed all thoughts other then being there with each other from their minds.