Giving Thanks and Other Holiday Traditions (1/1)

by Samantha McCullah

Spike sat perfectly still, leaning back against the window, and the only

hint of movement on his part was the flick of his eyes back and forth and

the slight upturning of the corners of his mouth as he watched Buffy pace

her room. She held in her hands two different shoes, and he could see her

lips moving as she debated the pros and cons of each shoe. Finally, she

howled in frustration and turned to face him.

"Which do you like better?" she asked, holding the shoes out so he could

get a good look at them. Spike couldn't help but grin at the look of

intensity on her face. Then he looked down at the shoes.

"Slayer? Love?" he asked with a smile. When he met her eyes, he continued,

"Those shoes are exactly the same," he laughed.

"No, they aren't. See this one?" She held up the one in her left hand. "It

has an extra little strapy thing. Now which do you like better?" she prodded.

"I like whichever one you like," he replied. She growled at him through

gritted teeth and tossed the shoe with the extra strapy thing at his head.

Spike managed to dodge the flying shoe, but his act of dodging caused him

to land in a heap on the floor. He watched some of the tension leak out of

her body as she dissolved into giggles at the sight of his body lying prone

on the floor.

"Laugh it up, Slayer," he hissed, grabbing her leg and pulling her down to

the floor. She landed on his stomach.

"I've been taking this too seriously, haven't I?" she asked, feeling relaxed

for the first time since her mom had given her the news. He nodded his head

lazily and held her tight to his chest.

"Buffy!" Joyce's muffled voice called out from downstairs.

"Ugh! Guess I better go play dutiful daughter," Buffy smirked; Spike pulled

her forward slightly and kissed her forehead before pulling them both to

their feet. He hugged her and started toward the window, but her hand

clamped down on his forearm. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going home to change." He gestured down at his usually faded black jeans

and shirt. "If I'm going to meet you're father for the first time, I don't

want

to look like a homeless man you picked up on a street corner," he smirked.

"I'll

be back," he whispered before disappearing out the window.

"You better be," Buffy whispered, sliding on a completely different pair of

shoes from the ones she'd shown Spike. Just then her mother called her name

again. "Coming, Mom!"

___________________

"I'm glad you decided to come, Hank," Joyce offered as her ex-husband stepped

through the door. "Buffy's missed you."

"I missed her, too. With work and other things taking all my time, I haven't

been able to see her as much as I like," he smiled. Just as the last words

left his mouth, Buffy came bounding down stairs and into her father's arms.

"Hello, honey," he laughed.

"Hi, Dad."

"So, is it just the three of us for dinner?" Hank asked with his arm around

Buffy.

"Actually, no. A friend of Buffy's is joining us," Joyce smiled. "Do you

want anything? Something to drink, maybe?" she offered.

"No, thank you, I'm good. What I do want is to hear about what you and

Buffy have been up to," Hank replied as the walked into the living room.

__________________

After thirty minutes of informing her father just what had been going on in

her life the past year (minus the stuff about demons and vampires, of course),

Buffy was starting to get worried. Spike only lived five minutes from her

house,

and he should have been back by now. <Where is he?> After her tenth trip to

the

window to see if he was walking up the walkway, she plopped down on the couch

next to her mother only to jump to her feet when the doorbell rang.

Buffy rushed over to the door and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Spike

standing on the porch. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in his

outfit.

He'd abandoned his black t-shirt for a blue silk shirt, and his black jeans

had been switch for black leather pants. In his hands he offered Buffy a blood

red rose.

"Well?" he leered.

"Well, what?" Buffy replied, finally finding her voice.

"What do you think?" He was enjoying this.

"Worth the wait," she whispered, grabbing his hand and leading him into the

house. He followed her into the living where Hank and Joyce still sat. "Dad,

this is William Addington, my...um, my boyfriend," she finished with a smile.

Hank stood up and gave Spike the once over; Spike held out his hand.

Hank took it and shook it firmly, "Nice to meet you, William."

"You, too, Mr. Summers," Spike replied.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, anybody want some turkey?" Joyce

asked, a smile firmly in place.

As Hank walked with Joyce into the dining room, Spike pulled Buffy aside and

commented, "Didn't know I was boyfriend material, love."

"I couldn't very well say 'lover', could I?" she replied with a smile and they

walked into the dining room.

____________________

Dinner went well, and Buffy made sure the conversation never came anywhere

near Spike. Finally, with dinner over, Buffy and Joyce cleared away the plates

and set about the task of getting everybody a piece of pie. While the two

Summers women were in the kitchen, Hank decided that it was the perfect time

to quiz Spike.

"So, William, how did you meet Buffy?" he asked.

"I'm, uh, in a band," he replied. "A rock band." He smiled faintly as

he remembered the same excuse Buffy had given her mother. "With Buffy."

"Really? And what does Buffy do in the band?"

<She does me,> Spike commented silently. "She plays the drums," he replied

out loud. "and I sing," he continued, knowing the next question. "We do a

wonderful rendition of 'My Way'."

"Sinatra's version?"

"Actually, the one by Sid Vicious."

"What's the name of this band?" Hank asked, obviously not believing Spike.

Fortunately, Joyce and Buffy chose that moment to exit the kitchen, bearing

pie. As Buffy took her seat next to Spike, Hank continued his inquisition.

"So, Buffy, you play the drums?"

Buffy looked over at Spike who was pleading with his eyes that she give an

answer. <Get me out of this, Slayer,> he begged silently.

"Oh, yeah, I'm hell on the old skins, you know," she smirked. Hank caught

sight of Joyce ducking her head to hide a smile.

"So, you two *are* in a band," Hank replied.

"Yeah, but we don't have a name yet," Buffy replied. She looked down at her

watch. "Oh, look at the time. Sp, uh, William, don't you have an elsewhere

to be?"

"Yeah, I gotta go, um, floss, or something," he commented, rising to his

feet. "Ms. Summers, wonderful meal. Mr. Summers, it was nice to meet you;

hope to see you soon." Buffy walked him to the door. They stood on the porch

with the door closed behind them, and Buffy kept looking over her shoulder

to make sure her father wasn't looking out the window.

"I'd kiss you goodnight, but that might drive Dad further over the edge."

She leaned forward and whispered, "My room, five minutes." Then she went

back inside.

_________________

Five minutes later, Buffy finally managed to excuse herself from her

family and make her way up to her room. She entered her bedroom to find

Spike sprawled on her bed with one arm over his eyes.

"Let me guess. You're expressly forbidden to see me ever again. Right?"

he asked, not moving.

"Well, duh, Spike," she smirked, making sure the door was locked and

walking over to him. "You show up in those pants, and you expect my

dad to love you?" she asked, finally reaching him and straddling his

waist. Spike groaned.

"And I thought you liked these pants, hmm," he commented, removing his

arm from his eyes and staring up into her eyes. He looped his arms around

her waist. "So you're forbidden to see me?"

"Mom likes you, so don't worry about it."

"Oh, yeah, that whole hit-me-with-an-axe thing was just a phase, right?"

he smirked. She laughed and kissed his nose lightly.

"You know, Spike, if we keep using that I'm-in-a-band excuse, we're

gonna have to think of a name," she commented. "And one more thing,

can you really sing?"

"Let's see," he cleared his throat, "~And more, much more than this / I

did it~" Before he could finish, Buffy's hand clamped down over his mouth.

"Never, ever sing again," she growled. Spike suddenly rolled over, and using

his waist to pin her legs, he smiled down at her.

"So, love, what do we do now?" She smiled in return and grabbed the back of

his head. She pulled his head down until their lips met, and they kissed

passionately.

"I've got an idea," she leered when the kiss broke.

*Fin*

Comments? Send too Samantha McCullah

Get me back to Angel of the Night!

Get me back to Spike's Corner!

Get me outta here period!