When he opened them again, he found himself surrounded by three concerned women.
“Spike, are you all right?” Dawn asked, speaking first.
“Yeah, bit, I’m fine,” Spike said, though he winced as he reached out and patted her head. “Thanks for the save.” He turned to Tara. “You, too, Glinda.”
Buffy was seated beside him on the couch, and though she said nothing, she gently ran her fingers over a bruise on his cheek. Spike nuzzled into her hand, then turned so he kissed her palm.
Dawn squealed at the sign of affection between her sister and the vampire. “Omigod, you two are so cute together!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down, the pitch of her voice making Spike wince again. “This is so the greatest thing ever.”
“Dawnie, Spike’s chip fired out on the porch. Maybe you could tone down the decibels a bit?” Buffy requested of her sister.
Dawn turned to Spike, chagrined. “Sorry.”
He gave her a small smile. “It’s all right, bit. I’m glad to know you approve of your sis an’ me.”
“I totally approve.” Dawn bit her lip to keep from squealing again, the excitement bubbling in her too much to contain. There’d been too much sadness and heartbreak in this house recently. She was ready for a little new love instead.
Buffy’s stern expression faded when she took a good look at her sister’s face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Dawn look genuinely happy. Maybe things really would start looking up now…
Still, she worried that Dawn’s enthusiasm might be a bit much for Spike at the moment, despite his claims otherwise. A couple of nasty bruises had appeared on his face and he kept pressing his hand to his temple. She wanted to march back outside, wait for Xander to come to, and then hit him until he was unconscious again, but instead she turned to her sister and said, “We have some blood in the freezer. Why don’t you go heat up a mug for Spike?”
“Right. Blood. On it,” Dawn said quickly and without argument, jogging out of the living room and towards the kitchen.
“Wow. That’s the first time in months she’s actually done what I’ve told her to do right away,” Buffy said. “She must like you.”
“Well, I am rather likable,” Spike replied with a smirk.
“I like you,” Buffy admitted with a kiss to the tip of Spike’s nose, making the vampire start for a moment before he gave her a boyish grin.
Out of the corner of his eye, Spike caught Tara’s lips curving up in a smile of her own, and he turned towards her. “What, Glinda?”
“You two are cute,” she replied, her smile turning into a teasing smirk. Spike gave her a stern look in response, but there was still the sparkle of mirth in his eyes, and Tara chuckled, then sobered again. “So I assume the two of you worked out your um…” She coughed. “Problem?”
“Yep, everything’s working fine now,” Buffy replied before she realized the full implications of her response and turned red.
Spike chuckled at Buffy’s embarrassment and wrapped his arm around her. “Yeah, Gilnda, we’re good now. Thanks for your help.”
Tara could tell from his expression he didn’t just mean the help she’d given them in regards to the backfiring of Buffy’s spell. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could be there for both of you.”
Buffy reached over and took Spike’s hand, intertwining her fingers with his. “So are we, Tara. Truly.” She paused for a moment, then met Tara’s eyes, wanting to make sure the other woman knew she meant what she was about to say. “I’ve asked Willow to leave before the week is out. Given what’s gone on recently, I just think it’s better if she isn’t living here. But you… This is still your home, Tara – if you want it to be.”
The expression on Tara’s face made it clear how much Buffy’s words took her by surprise. “I…I know you’ve got a lot going on right now, Buffy. I…I wouldn’t want to be an imposition.”
“You wouldn’t be,” Buffy assured her. “I’m actually thinking about doing some redecorating and moving into my mom’s…” She stopped in mid-sentence, cleared her throat, and began again. “Moving into the master bedroom. That would leave the other bedroom open, and if you wanted to move back in, it’s yours.”
“I…” Tara stopped, unsure of what to say. Buffy’s offer touched her, and a week ago, she wouldn’t have believed it could even happen. A week ago, it may not have, she realized. However, it was clear that the slayer’s offer was genuine, and Tara knew the connection she’d felt she’d made with the other woman in the past twenty-four hours had not been imagined on her part.
“Is Tara moving back in with us?” Dawn asked as she reemerged in the living room, mug in hand.
“If she wants to,” Buffy replied.
“Tara, would you?” Dawn asked, her eyes pleading. “We had so much fun together when you lived here.”
Tara smiled gently at the teen, remembering that yes, they had had fun together. Even with all the bad things that had surrounded the time Tara had lived at Revello Drive, she’d always liked the time she’d spent with Dawn, feeling sometimes as if she was her little sister as well. “Okay,” Tara said. “I’ll try it. But if I’m a burden…”
“Tara, you’re not a burden,” Dawn said, rolling her eyes. “You’re family.”
“She’s right,” Buffy said, agreeing with her sister. “And right now, I really think I could use my family around.” She squeezed Spike’s hand. “All of you.”
“Then I’ll move back in,” Tara said, surprised at how peaceful that decision made her feel.
Suddenly, Dawn rushed over to Spike, careful not to spill the blood as she handed it to him before darting out of the room, calling over her shoulder that she was going somewhere to squeal without giving him a headache. “Thanks, bit!” Spike called after her, though whether it was for the blood or the relocation of her high-pitched sounds of glee was a toss-up.
“Good. I’m glad,” Buffy said to Tara, giving her a bright smile. She reminded Tara a little more of the woman she’d first met and not the tired, lost woman she’d become.
“Although right now, I think I’m going to go back to the dorm. I think Xander and Willow are gone, and Spike looks like he could use some rest,” Tara said. “I’ll call tomorrow and see how you’re both doing.”
“Okay,” Buffy said as she stood up. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“All right,” Tara replied with a nod. She smiled at the vampire still seated on the couch. “Bye, Spike. I hope your head doesn’t give you too much trouble.”
Spike smiled back at her. “It’s already feeling better. Have a good night, Tara.”
Tara’s smile turned teasing. “Hey, you do know my name.”
Spike smirked at her in response. “Yeah, I do. But calling people by their actual names is just so overrated.”
Tara chuckled, giving Spike a small wave as she followed Buffy towards the front door. Dawn joined them there, and Spike watched over the top of his mug, taking a drink of the warm blood as Tara spoke softly to both of the Summers sisters, then hugged them good-bye.
It was clear that all three of them were happy with the new living arrangements they’d decided upon, and Spike couldn’t help but wonder where he fit in. Buffy had told him she loved him and wanted to be with him, but did that mean she wanted him sharing her home? Would she think it was too much too soon? Spike knew what he wanted, but he also knew that most people weren’t as willing to throw themselves headfirst into relationships the way he was – and Buffy certainly hadn’t been as warm to the idea of their coupledom as he’d been.
He clutched the mug of blood, telling himself he couldn’t push her. He knew Tara had been right the night before when she’d said Buffy needed to work at her own pace. He’d let her broach the subject when she was ready – even if he could barely stand the idea of ever sleeping without her in his arms again.
The front door shut behind Tara, and Spike heard Dawn say – loudly – as she went up the stairs that she would be in her room, leaving Buffy and Spike to themselves. Buffy turned and stood in the doorway to the living room, her hands clutched in front of her.
For several moments, they were both silent, and Spike could tell from Buffy’s body language that she was nervous. She looked like she normally did when she was about to bolt, and he clutched his mug a little tighter, hoping she wasn’t going to make a sudden change in her attitude towards him. He knew it wouldn’t exactly be sane for someone to go from professing love to running off in the span of a few hours, but this was Buffy after all…
“Kitten? Everything all right?” He asked, wincing when he heard his voice cracking slightly. “You’re…you’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
Buffy looked up then, a frown on her face. “No, no second thoughts.” She sighed. “I’m really going to have to work hard to prove to you I’m not going to keep toying with your emotions like a mega-bitch, aren’t I?”
Spike responded with a small smile. “Don’t worry, luv. It’s not all because of you. For all my good looks and swagger, I can be right insecure at times.”
His response made her chuckle. “God, we’re really a mess.”
Spike laughed with her. “Yeah, we really are.”
Buffy moved from the doorway joined Spike on the couch, cuddling against his side. Spike held his mug in one hand and wrapped the other arm around her, relaxing now that it seemed whatever it was that was on her mind wasn’t the sudden desire to run away again. Instead, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest, a small smile on her face as she draped her arm across his stomach, keeping him close to her. She looked so completely content that Spike let himself relax as well, telling himself it was safe to let his guard down, to have the courage to accept this at face value.
She loved him. She’d told him so, and he had to believe she meant it.
Buffy stayed like that in his arms for several minutes as Spike quietly sipped his blood, the pain in his body and his head lessening as he listened to the easy rhythms of her heart and breath. When he finished his meal, he leaned forward and put the empty mug on a stack of magazines on the coffee table. Buffy moved then, sitting up and opening her eyes, though she stayed close against his side. Spike looked down at her and saw she still had that nervous look in her eyes again and was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Okay, just spit it out, whatever it is,” Spike said. “You’re making me edgy.”
“I…” Buffy stopped and let out a deep breath. “I suck at this.”
“Seeing as I’m currently not even sure what ‘this’ is, then I’d have to agree with you on that, luv.”
“Bite me,” Buffy muttered, only to blush when she remembered who she was talking to. “Pretend I didn’t say that.”
Spike grinned at her lasciviously. “Oh, there’s no way that’s happening, kitten. Not many things you could say would affect me more than that.”
“I want you to move in with me,” Buffy blurted out.
Spike’s head tilted. “Except maybe that.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and looked into her eyes, trying to tell from them if her nervousness was based on asking the question itself or the prospect of sharing a home with him. “Are you sure?”
“Completely,” Buffy replied, not a trace of doubt in her voice. “But if you don’t want to, I’d understand. I mean, we haven’t really been together very long, and maybe you want to have your space, which is cool, I’d totally get…”
The last of her sentence was muffled by Spike’s lips, and she had her answer. She could still taste the metallic tang of blood on his tongue, but she realized she didn’t care. She found she had a similar reaction to it as she had to the smell of cigarettes – on anyone else it might disgust her, but when it was rolled up in the package her mind associated with Spike, she couldn’t imagine it any other way.
He smiled at her when he broke the kiss, and Buffy couldn’t help but smile back. He caressed her face with his thumb, his smile growing, and one look at him told Buffy he didn’t just want her, didn’t just love her – he adored her.
It made her heart flutter.
“I was thinking maybe we could re-do the master bedroom together,” she said when she caught her breath again, her hands against his chest. “You know, make it ours.”
“I’d like that, sweetheart.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
They were both still smiling as they kissed again, and Buffy wondered if she’d ever be able to stop. It hadn’t been too long ago when she’d been wondering if she’d ever be able to really smile again…
One more realization washed over her, and she murmured it against Spike. “I wasn’t finished.”
He moved back from her face slightly. “What was that, luv?”
“I wasn’t finished,” she repeated, louder this time. “I…I thought I was. You know, when…when I jumped.” She swallowed, the memories still difficult, though she noted they weren’t as difficult as they’d once been. For the first time, she knew that eventually, the pain was going to ease, fade into the background of her life. “I thought I’d done all I was supposed to, but now, I’m realizing I hadn’t. There’s… Well, there’s a lot of things I think I hadn’t experienced yet.”
“Does that mean you’re happy to be back?” Spike asked softly.
Buffy nodded. “Yeah, I am.” Her grin broadened again. “Heaven will still be there when I’m ready. For now, I think I’d rather be here, with you – loving you.”
Spike pulled her closer to him and breathed in the scent of her hair. He didn’t say anything; he didn’t have to. She knew.
She broke away, met his eyes, and Spike knew then she wasn’t going to run from him again.
Patrol could wait for a night – it was time for Buffy to live for herself as well as the world.
Spike rose to his feet, lifted her into his arms, and carried her upstairs.
This is the end of this story. I know a lot of people were expecting more with Willow or an Angel confrontation, but I never planned for this story to be very long. Just one conflict – short and sweet. I hope you were still able to find the ending satisfactory.
Please review and let me know what you thought.