Chapter 3
 
 
Buffy opened her eyes, sleepily, she looked around, then deciding not to bother with the ‘waking up’ thing, she snuggled closer to Spike’s ivory back, and closed her eyes.
 
“Buffy, luv?” Spike asked.
 
“I’m sleeping,” Buffy mumbled.
 
Spike rolled over, raising his eyebrows at her, “You’re asleep?”
 
She nodded sincerely at him.
 
“Kuweet, kreeep, tuweet!”
 
Buffy frowned, “Uh oh.”
 
Kirrel leapt onto the bed, grabbing Spike’s pillow in his sharp claws, pulling energetically on it. After giving up on that he leapt over Spike, scrabbling madly in Buffy’s hair.
 
“Kirrel, no, ack!” Buffy complained, groaning she sat up, capturing the small, furry creature and placing him on the floor. She then proceeded to scour the floor for the various items of clothing she had been wearing when she’d arrived the night before. Her dress was hung neatly over the back of a chair, the rest wasn’t so easy to find.
 
Spike watched her as she dressed. As he studied every movement she made he was surprised by his thoughts. What he saw in her, it wasn’t beauty- not that she wasn’t beautiful- it was more, she possessed a strength, a grace, a resolve that filled every part of her and seemed to glow from within her golden skin. As he watched her he seemed to draw life from her, could feel it pouring into his body, deeper and richer than blood.
She finished dressing and turned to him, she seemed to pick up on at least some of what he was thinking and in return she sent waves of love, her eyes gleaming with it. Kirrel hopped up and down, chirping loudly. Buffy sighed, scooping him up and heading up into the main part of the crypt.
 
After pulling on a pair of black jeans Spike followed her. He grabbed a can of coke from the fridge, picking up a packet of peanuts from the floor, he offered them to Buffy.
 
Buffy blinked at the offered Coke and peanuts. “Spike…”
 
Spike looked at her, an apologetic look on his face.
 
“Let’s go out for breakfast?”
 
…………
 
“Okay, so I get it, right... If it has some funny colour it’s probably poisonous, or magical or something...”
 
Faith looked at Kris, an amused half smile curling one side of her mouth. She looked up, noticing Buffy, sitting in a café with possibly the hottest guy Faith had ever seen. “Hey, Kris, check out B’s catch.” Faith grinned an sat herself, uninvited, at the little table. Buffy looked up, she had been in deep conversation with Spike and was somewhat annoyed at being pulled from the all important, conversation about scones.
 
Kirrel leapt up onto the table, a piece of Buffy’s scone held in his tiny white paws. 
 
Kris’ eyes widened dramatically when she saw him. “Oh, that is the cutest thing I have ever, ever seen!” She practically squeaked.
 
Loving the attention, Kirrel ran over to her, rubbing his small head on her arms as Faith ordered breakfast for herself and Kris.
 
“So... check out your guy action.” Faith said approvingly, unashamedly looking Spike up and down.
 
“Faith and Kris, this is Spike, Spike- Faith and Kris, they’re slayers.”
 
“Just a shot in the dark- vamp, right?” Faith grinned.
 
Buffy nodded as Kris stared at him. “But… how, daylight...” She stammered.
 
“Undercover luv.” Spike waved to wide awning they were sheltered under. “Took the underground to get here.”
 
“Underground?”
 
“The lovely and truly scenic Sunnydale sewers.” Buffy said wryly.”
 
“So, so, you’re a…”
 
“Vampire.” Spike finished for her. “Yeah.”
 
“But isn’t he…”
 
“Nah.” Faith cut in. “If they’re hot they get special consideration.”
 
Buffy wrinkled her nose, aware that Faith was referring to Angel. “Please, don’t. So don’t wanna go there.”
 
Faith laughed as Kris looked mildly perplexed. Buffy smiled at the poor girl, “Alright, the thing is, everyone- the council and all that- they were wrong, they’ve been wrong all along. You see, demons all have souls, not human souls but souls all the same. Which means they each can think and act for themselves.”
 
“So demons aren’t bad?”
 
Buffy shook her head. “Most of them are, God- I’ve fought enough of them, but there are good ones, they don’t want to kill stuff, they just want to live out their little lives in peace.”
 
“And William the Bloody suddenly decided to become a model citizen?” Faith asked, sceptically.
 
“Well, he.. uh.”
 
Faith smirked. “You tamed the beast, huh B?” she laughed.
 
“Hey!” Spike protested as the waitress brought Faith and Kris coffee and pancakes. “Who said I’m tame.”
 
“Nah.” Faith agreed. “You look all evil with your scones and kitten thing.”
 
Kirrel realised someone was talking about him and so set about obtaining some of her pancake.
 
“Hey, push off,” Faith laughed, giving in and tossing him some pancake drenched in maple syrup.
 
Spike sighed, leaning back in his chair, Buffy giggled, pulling her chair closer to him and putting her arms around his neck. “Don’t worry, I think you look evil.”
 
“That so?” Spike asked.
 
“Uh huh.” She absently traced a finger down the side of his neck.
 
Kris giggled slightly and Faith just smirked, having finished her pancakes. Kirrel leapt up onto the table and began lapping syrup off her plate.
 
“Well,” Buffy said. “I’m gonna get the Big Bad here back home, I’ll see you guys later, tonight maybe?”
 
Faith nodded, pushing herself to her feet, oblivious of Kris who tried to gulp her coffee down, scalding her throat.
 
…………
 
“Buffy,” Willow sat on her bed, her friend’s hands in her own. “I’ve been thinking, I know it’s not really my business- you and Spike…”
 
Buffy cut her off. “Will, of course it’s your business, you’re my best friend.”
 
“Well, I think… I think Spike is good- for you, I mean, I know he’s a vampire but… I really think what happened with the two of you- it’s really sweet. And- I saw the way he looks at you, I know he loves you.”
 
“Oh, Will…” Buffy threw her arms around her friend’s neck.
 
“Ooof, slayer strengthy…” Willow gasped.
 
“Sorry.” Buffy said, bashfully. “Is Tara better, she seemed, kind of off.”
 
“Yeah.” Willow nodded. “We talked and… It’s a long story but we’ll be fine, no matter what. I just… someone needs to remove Xander’s voice box.”
 
“Yeah, I know.” Buffy nodded. “He was being a jerk. But I kind of talked to him last night, and if he’s not okay with it, at least he won’t be annoying about it.”
 
“Well, you’d better go.” Willow said regretfully. “You said you have to be somewhere by 9:00.”
 
“Oh, just slayer stuff, you know- patrolling.” Buffy frowned. “Just… I’ve been having these dreams, since I went to Spira, they’ve been happening every night now. I just thought, can you look into something for me?”
 
Willow seemed to light up, her eyes shone as she scrabbled around for her laptop and some books. “Research? I can do that!” She said enthusiastically.
 
Buffy related her dream to Willow as she frantically took notes and sketched. When she was finished Buffy bid her friend goodnight, heading to the graveyard, to patrol with Kris, Faith and Spike- to walk arm in arm with Spike back to his crypt afterwards and lose herself- or more to the point, find herself in his embrace.
 
……………
 
It’s a scythe.” Willow explained to Buffy. “The details are sketchy but from what I can work out the scythe from your dreams- it contains some sort of unstoppable power. In your dreams…”
 
“An army of slayers.” Buffy finished. “I could see them, standing across a wide plain, so many of them, strong and beautiful.” She shook her head. Partly at the concept and partly at the slip of poeticness that had somehow made its way into her speech.
 
“Can you… I mean, with the scythey thing, could you do that?”
 
“I don’t even know how.” Willow said, looking desperate.
 
“You’ll find a way.” Buffy said, confidently.
 
“Tara can help!” Willow said. “She’s been really practising recently, she’s getting really good!”
 
“That’s great.” Buffy smiled warmly, meaning it. I just have to hunt down this temple thingy, right? Bring the thing back to you and then…”
 
“You really want to leave, don’t you?” Willow said.
 
“What?” Buffy was caught off guard.
 
“Wherever you were, you were happy there?” Willow said. “If we call all the slayers, you can go back there.”
 
Buffy bit her bottom lip, the thought had occurred to her, but how? She couldn’t click her heels together three times and poof back there.
 
“I understand.” Willow tried to smile. “I just… I’ll miss you.”
 
 
 Buffy brought up the idea that night, Spike listening intently.
 
“… but, only if you wanted to?” Buffy finished.
 
“Buffy, I would love to. And, anyway, pet, isn’t it what you wanted, a house on the Moonflow?”
 
“Yes, I could say goodbye to everyone here, I didn’t get to last time. Maybe that’s all this really is- a second chance, maybe if we fix things up in this world we can get back to that world.”
 
“Our world!” Spike corrected, his eyes gleaming with strength and resolve. “Home.”
 
Buffy nodded, she could feel tears building up behind her eyes, a sweet pain. She kissed him, suddenly, impulsively, but at the same time slowly and passionately. She pressed against him, close wasn’t close enough, she needed to become one with him, she wanted to be tender and at the same time crush him. It wasn’t about sex, it was different. It was like a part of her, untouchable wanted to be touched. She realised her breath was coming in shorter gasps, though she didn’t know why, she wrapped her arms around him tighter, and though she didn’t realise it he was doing the same thing, feeling the same thing. “Spike.” She said, hardly daring to ask.
 
“Yes pet.” Spike said, for some reason his chest rose and fell.
 
“Bite me, please?”
 
“Buffy..?” He seemed admonishing.
 
“I know you won’t hurt me, I just, I think I need you to.” She could feel it, a tugging on her, a fire rushing through her veins- untameable and desperate.
 
Spike realised that he too had this strange fire within him and more than anything he wanted to do exactly what she asked of him. Not to feed- to feel her, to become part of her and to ride into that blissful nothingness with her- to lose time and substance until all that existed were the two of them.

 
 
Buffy lay with her head on Spike’s chest, she sighed contentedly, closing her eyes and drifting into sleep, into dreams filled with sunlit beaches, wide, rolling plains, crystal-like rivers and nights that were magic; lit by the soaring of pyreflies and the love that shone from him, for her.
 
In the days that followed Willow, Kris and Faith searched for the Incan temple, based on the clues from Buffy’s dreams., And the nights- the nights passed far too quickly for Buffy, patrolling or lovemaking, anytime spent with Spike was wonderful- no more than wonderful.
 
And after the slayers departed and Buffy and Spike walked back, to Spike’s crypt, the magic that followed was beyond words, beyond understanding, Buffy wanted the next day to come by, bringing with it its new joys, but begged each moment to last a little longer.
 
 Everything seemed to glow with the light of hope, even when the sorcerer, Ethan, escaped Giles’ custody, everything still flowed. Ethan fled town without so much as a backward glance or last word- unusual for him but at the same time refreshing.
 
As Buffy basked in the warm sun, filled with the past and the future, memories and hope, she only needed one thing to make everything perfect, Spike, right beside her, in the sunlight.
 
tbc