"What's your favorite movie, luv?"
"Um, I don't know. I guess, Titanic."
Spike snorted, "Titanic?"
Buffy playfully punched him on the shoulder, "Yes! It's so sweet. I love the idea that Jack loved Rose enough to die for her. It's just so romantic."
They had been playing sixty questions for the last hour. They made plans to meet up at his apartment for dinner, ending up with her laying on top of him on his couch.
Spike still hadn't figured out how he and Willow were going to get her away from Riley, but he knew that it had to be fast. She had shown up at his apartment with a hand print bruise on her upper left arm.
Buffy had explained to him that Riley thought that she 'wasn't paying enough attention to him while he was telling her what he had done that day at work.'
Spike tightened his hold on her as he thought of the bruise, "Okay, luv. It's your turn."
She sighed, thinking for a moment, "Okay, if you could do anything in the world, without consequences, what would you do?"
He didn't have to think or hesitate on his answer, "Take you away from Riley. Then get away from here and make love to you for hours and treat you like you deserve to be treated."
Buffy felt her eyes water. No one had ever said anything like that to her. She had never felt this way for anyone as she felt it for Spike. She snuggled her face into his chest, silently asking, "Think you could do that second one now?"
Spike had barely heard her request. Shocked, he pulled her face from his chest so he could look in her eyes, "Buffy? Are you sure?"
She nodded, "Yes, I'm sure. Will you?" She sat up, pulling him with her.
Spike smiled from ear to ear, scooping her up in his arms, he stood up, carrying her towards the bedroom, "I'd be honored to, sweetheart."
(((()))))
Buffy looked down at the sleeping Spike in her arms. He looked so peaceful. Sated. So was she. She had had the best experience in her life not more than thirty minutes ago.
She looked around the room, trying to get a feel of what he liked. She had never been in his bedroom until now. They had always stayed in the living room or kitchen. But they had never ventured into this part of the house.
Now, they were sure to make this their first stop of every visit. And she wasn't complaining. She was very happy that she had asked Spike to make love to her. He was attentive, caring, and just fantastic.
There was no comparison. And she knew that this was a big step. Technically, she was cheating on Riley, but he hit her. He abused her. And he had cheated on her countless times, so she didn't really see what the big deal was.
She knew that Riley would see it as a big deal though. If he ever found out about her and Spike, she knew that he would try to kill Spike, or her. She was used to the abuse by now. Did it hurt any less, scare her any less, or make it seem okay? No. Nothing would ever make it okay.
But she never wanted Spike to get hurt. She felt a slight fall in her heart as she thought about Spike getting hurt because of her, because she couldn't keep her mouth shut and just wait until Willow got home.
She had put Spike in this position, the position to get hurt. She wanted to keep him safe, she never wanted him to get hurt. She knew why, but she wouldn't say it out loud. She had thought it countless times, she loved him.
She knew that it should be too soon to love him, but she did, and she didn't care what people thought. As soon as she was away from Riley, she would tell him. To say she was scared would be an understatement. She was petrified. Mainly for the thought that he wouldn't love her back.
She glanced at the night stand to see what time it was, noticing the drawer open. She peeked inside, seeing a black notebook. It looked like it had been through the ringer. Stains on it, crumpled sides of the pages.
She knew that she shouldn't be looking in it, but she couldn't help herself. She opened the cover, careful to not wake up Spike. She saw, in beautiful, Victorian cursive, something that made her heart flutter.
She understood now, why he was helping her. Understood why he wanted to get her away from Riley. She had always thought that it was because he thought it would be the right thing to do. But know she knew.
She knew now why, it was clearly simple. On the first line, it said, "How to save the girl I love."