One
Buffy Summers slowly opened one eye, quickly squeezing it shut again against the intruding light. She turned in the bed to get away from the sun that streamed in through the window in her bedroom. It wasn’t like she had anywhere she needed to be... Her eyes flew open.
“Crap!” She grabbed the alarm clock off the bed side table. It read 10:48. “Crap!”
Buffy jumped out of the bed and quickly got dressed before she ran out of her room and down the hallway to the kitchen.
“Faith, get up, we’re late.” She yelled into her sister’s bedroom on the way.
“Crap!” She heard muffled through the door. Good, Faith was up.
Buffy scurried around the kitchen, putting coffee on and fixing her hair at the same time. A few minutes later Faith rushed into the room.
“How could we oversleep, I thought you set your alarm?” Faith asked, getting a shrug back.
“I don’t know, guess I must have turned it off by mistake or something.” Buffy handed Faith a cup of coffee and they were out the door.
*****
They arrived at the church with only minutes to go, and joined the group of bridesmaids just inside the doors as discretely as possible. As soon as they got there, they were approached by their other sister, Dawn, and a frantic signing started.
“(Where have you been?)” Dawn asked.
“(Overslept.)” Buffy responded. Dawn threw her arms in the air.
“(That is so typical for the two of you.)” She signed. Buffy and Faith were known for their inability to be on time. Ever.
“(You can’t even be on time for your own mother’s wedding.)” Buffy and Faith made their best ‘sorry-faces’ and Dawn soften a little. “(Fine. As long as you haven’t forgotten the rings.)” She went back to her place in the line, and Buffy, who was the maid of honor because she was the oldest, and thereby in charge of the rings, gave Faith a horrified look.
“Don’t tell me you forgot them?” Faith half whispered.
“There wasn’t exactly a lot of time this morning.” Buffy hissed. “In case you forgot.” Faith looked around the small room filled with bridesmaids and groomsmen.
“Hang on. I’ll fix it.” She said with a smile to Buffy before taking off into the small crowd. A few minutes later, she was back.
“Got it.” She announced.
*****
“Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to witness the union between Joyce Anne Summers and Rupert Stewart Giles.”
Buffy watched the priest with half an eye where she was positioned next to her mother in the front of the church, while inspecting the guests with the other. Her family was there, of course, as were some friends of her and her sister’s along with her mother’s girl-friends. She recognized some of Giles’ relatives on the groom’s side of the church, and then her eyes came to a dead stop when they met blue. Buffy took a deep breath and slowly let her eyes sweep over the unfamiliar young man. ‘Yum’ she thought, before mentally cursing herself. ‘This is your mother’s wedding, not a chance for you to get lucky, missy’. She turned her attention back to the priest just as he asked for the rings.
“Joyce, repeat after me. With this ring I be wed.” Joyce took the ring from the priest, and almost choked as she found a ring that was made in the shape of a skull instead of the ring she and Rupert had picked out. She quickly regained her self-control and did as the priest had instructed.
“Now, Rupert, repeat after me please. With this ring I be wed.” Rupert put the other ring, a bright pink thing made out of glass, on Joyce’s finger without showing any sign of surprise. Buffy watched with a smile.
*****
Connor wandered aimlessly through the garden of the Palm Spring Desert Inn, where the wedding reception was being held. Why had he agreed to go to this thing? Rupert was only his stepmothers cousin, they weren’t even related. He looked around at the other guests, and his eyes stopped on a girl, about his age, with long brown hair. She was standing about fifteen feet away, with a blonde woman. They were both making strange signs with their hands. Connor approached another woman, a red head.
“Excuse me, could you tell me who that is?” He asked, indicating the brunette.
“That’s Dawnie.” The red head replied.
“She’s beautiful.” Connor said.
“I’ve always thought so.” The red head answered, and Connor gave her a weird look.
“What are they doing with their hands?” He decided to let the comment go.
“Oh, that. The beauty’s deaf.”
*****
Dawn went to talk to their mother, leaving Buffy close to the stage in the large tent that had been put up in the garden of the inn. The guests had eaten, danced to a local band playing sentimental love songs in honor of the occasion, and were now beginning to leave.
Buffy looked around the dance floor and spotted two of her friends, Willow and Tara, dancing. She smiled at the scene they made. It had been quite the scandal when the two had started dating a couple of years ago, Sunnydale being the small town that it was. But now, everyone accepted the relationship.
Her eyes kept going and found two of her other friends, Xander and Anya at one of the tables, talking. Xander had grown up in Sunnydale, just like Buffy and Willow. Buffy had met Anya when she was in college in San Francisco and they had become instant friends. When Anya had moved to Sunnydale a couple of months ago, she had been welcomed with open arms by Buffy’s friends, and Buffy suspected that Xander had a little crush on her.
A couple of tables from them Buffy found one of her best friends since high school, Angel, talking to his sister, Cordelia at one of the tables. Cordy spotted Buffy and waved her over.
“Hey, Buff, where are you guys staying tonight?” The other girl asked as Buffy approached the table.
“We’ve got rooms here at the inn.” Buffy replied. Her mother had made reservations for her, Faith and Dawn.
“Why don’t the three of you stay at our place?” Cordy suggested. “We’ve got like, a hundred rooms. I’ve never bothered to count them.” Buffy nodded.
“OK. Have you seen Faith or Dawn around?”
“I think Faith went inside a little while ago.” Angel said. “We’ll let them know about the change in plans.” Buffy smiled.
“Thanks.” She surveyed the open space again. “Guess I’d better go mingle.” She waved a goodbye over her shoulders as she walked across the edge of the dance floor.
As she passed a dancing couple, she felt like she was being watched, and her eyes scanned the crowd, once again meeting blue. She changed her direction and smiled as she approached the stranger.
“Hello there.” He smiled back.
‘Oh my God, he has an accent!’
“Hi.” Buffy managed to get out.
“I’m Spike, Giles’ nephew. And you must be one of the Summers girls.” Spike offered Buffy his hand, and she shook it. The moment their hands met, Buffy felt a shock of electricity surging through her. From the look in his eyes, he had felt it too.
“I’m Buffy, Buffy Summers.”
“Then I guess we’re family now.” Spike chuckled a little. “But only on paper.”
“I guess so.” Buffy nodded.
“So, where are you staying tonight?” Spike asked.
“Mom made reservations for me and my sisters here at the inn, but we’re gonna stay at a friend’s place, they have a mansion here.”
“Too bad.” Spike said, never losing eye contact with her. “I’m staying here at the inn.” There was no mistaking the meaningful look in his eyes. When he finally broke the connection, Buffy felt weak to the knees.
“Well, it was nice almost meeting you.” Spike smiled and started to leave.
“Wait. We can meet now.” Buffy suggested. “The night’s still...” She glanced at her watch. “OK, it’s a little mature, but still.” Spike laughed.
“I think we both know that’s a lie.” He took another step away from her. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”
*****
“Hey, An.” Xander sat down next to the girl. “What’s with the long face?”
“I was promised sex.” Anya complained.
“What?” Xander asked in astonishment.
“Buffy said that if I was a brides maid, I would get sex. That the guys would be like crazy.” Anya looked around. “Do you see any?”
“I guess not.” Xander patted Anya supportively on the shoulder and decided to take a shot. “You know, if you... I mean, I could...” Anya cut him off.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Xander. I’m not that desperate.”
*****
“Hey, Buffy, you ready to go?” Angel came up and put his arm around Buffy’s shoulder. She nodded.
“Sure, let me just get Faith and Dawnie.”
“Cordy got them, there headed for the car.” Angel replied.
“OK, let’s go then.” Buffy said and they made their way through the tent that was almost empty by now. When they passed one of the tables, Buffy saw Xander and Anya making out.
“Should we interrupt them?” Angel asked. “They’re supposed to stay at the mansion too.”
“Let’s just leave them.” Buffy decided. “They have rooms here too, I think they’ll manage.”
*****
Buffy sat in the jeep, surrounded by her friends, and wondered what the heck she was doing. ‘You could be with a hot guy right now, and you’re where? In a car with your friends. Something’s very wrong here.”
“Angel, could you stop the car?” She requested. Angel gave her a surprised look, but did as she told him. When the car had stopped, Buffy jumped out.
“What’re you doing, B?” Faith leaned out through the window.
“I think I’ll stay at the inn afterall.” Buffy said. “I mean, mom did pay for the rooms and stuff, I just think I should...” Faith gave her a look of understanding.
“I see. You go get him, B.”
*****
Buffy opened the door to the inn and went inside. The lobby was empty and quiet, and she proceeded into the adjoining bar/restaurant.
“Hello? Anybody here?” She called.
“Hello, love.” Buffy turned to the sound of Spike’s voice and smiled.
“Hey.”
“So you decided to stay here after all.” Spike returned her smile.
“Yeah, turned out there wasn’t enough room for all of us.” Buffy sat down in the armchair opposite Spike.
“Thought you said it was a mansion?” Spike raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Yes... well... I mean... a small mansion, only three rooms.” Buffy managed to keep from blushing.
“Would you like something to drink, miss?” Buffy looked up at the waiter who had entered the room without her noticing it.
“No, I’m fine thanks.” She said and the waiter left.
“So, how long are you...” Buffy turned back to Spike, but he was gone. She looked around the room, confused.
“Buffy, hi!” She heard from behind her. She sighed before turning to greet Harmony Kendall, former Sunnydale High bitch and currently annoying. She didn’t understand why her mother had insisted on inviting her to the wedding.
“Harm, great to see you.” Buffy had put on a fake smile.
“You too.” Harmony returned the smile, just as fake. “Listen, you didn’t happen to see that British guy here? He was at the wedding, bleache hair, blue eyes, you know the one.” Buffy was about to say yes when she spotted Spike, who was peeking out from behind a curtain, shaking his head at her frantically.
“No, sorry, can’t say I have.” Buffy offered an apologetic smile.
“Darn!” Harmony sat down in the chair Spike had left minutes earlier. “I was so getting some.” Buffy had to bite her lip not to start laughing at Spike’s horrified look when he heard Harmony’s words.
“So, how’s everything with you?” Harmony tried to stall the talk. Buffy saw Spike sneaking out of the room behind Harmony’s back, and decided to distract her.
“Good, good. Got a great job at the high school, as a counselor. How about you? I heard you got a modeling contract!” She picked Harmony’s favourite subject – herself.
“I did, I’m in New York right now, working with...” Harmony kept on talking, but Buffy tuned her out. After twelve years in the same school as Harmony, you learned how to do that. They were interrupted by the waiter coming back.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but your husband asked that I tell you to come up to the room.” He said to Buffy.
“My husband?” Buffy repeated, confused. “Right, my husband.”
“He said to tell you it’s room 241, in case you’ve forgotten.” The waiter continued.
“Thank you.” Buffy said, and turned to say goodbye to Harmony who had an amused look on her face.
“You must have a really bad memory if you can’t remember being married.” She said with a laugh.
“You know me.” Buffy joked. “I would forget my head if it wasn’t attached to my body.” She got up to leave. “Well, it was nice talking to you, shouldn’t let him wait.”
“No, at least one of us should get laid tonight.” Harmony replied. Buffy chose to ignore her statement and waved a goodbye before walking to the elevator.
*****
Buffy paused for a moment outside door number 241 and took a deep breath. Before she could get the courage to knock, the door was opened.
“Hey.” Spike said, peeking out through the half open door. He had taken off the tie and the jacket he had been wearing, and was now dressed only in black pants and a blue shirt which, Buffy noticed, had a couple of buttons undone at the top. Her eyes lingered for a moment at the skin she could see through the opening in the shirt before she looked up to meet his eyes.
“Hey.” She smiled, a little shy. She wasn’t normally the kind of girl who went to a complete strangers room, looking for... whatever it was she was looking for, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that this mad did something to her, that she was drawn to him. And for once, she ignored the little voice inside her that was telling her to be a god girl and walk away. Heck, she deserved some fun!
“So...” They both said at the same time, causing them to laugh.
“You go first.” Spike said.
“I just wanted to say thanks for saving me from Harmony.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “She can be... I don’t want to say unbearable... well, actually I do.” They laughed again.
“Yeah, I see your point.” Spike agreed. “At least she knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to go after it.”
“And that’s great.” Buffy said. “As long as it’s not, you know... you.”
“Yeah, gotta agree with you there. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with her, it’s just...” He let his eyes roam over Buffy’s body, making her blush. “Got my eye on someone else.”
“Oh, really?” Buffy raised an eyebrow as she took a small step closer to him.
“Really.” Spike replied. “So... you wanna come in?” There was no questioning the underlying meaning in his words as he opened the door wider for her.
Buffy answered by walking past him into the room. She stopped inside, looking around a little, not sure what to do next. She felt Spike’s presence as he walked past her and sat down on the king sized bed, patting the seat next to him. She sat down, careful not to sit too close. They were both quiet for a moment, before Buffy was the first to speak.
“So... you’re British, right?” She asked, not being able to think a whole lot with him so close. He chuckled a little.
“Picked up on that, did you?” She blushed again. ‘When the heck did I start to blush?’
“Yeah, live in London. My mum was Rupes older sister. Haven’t seen him since I graduated from college. Didn’t have anything better to do, so I thought I’d go see him get married.”
“Oh.” Was Buffy’s only reply. “What’s it like over there? I mean, is it very different from here?”
“I guess it’s pretty different.” He nodded. “It’s the small things that you notice, y’know? Like, at the wedding for instance. It would have been completely inappropriate for the groom and bride to kiss in some of the more stuffy British churches.”
During the conversation, they had both switched a little on the bed, and were know facing each other, only a few inches apart. Buffy could feel his warm breath against her face as he spoke.
“Really? What would be... appropriate?” She asked, holding her breath as he moved a little bit closer.
“I think this would be alright.” He placed a light kiss on her cheek.
“Oh.” She said. “How about... this?” She slowly leaned forward and their lips met in a soft kiss, that quickly escalated. Tongues battled, hands roamed and clothes were being tugged at.
“I think... that... would be... taking it... one... step... too... far...” Spike mumbled while kissing a trace down Buffy’s neck, his left hand reaching for the back zipper in her dress while the other caressed her neck. Buffy desperately tugged at his shirt, somehow managing to get the buttons undone and pull it off. Spike pushed her down on the bed, and she willingly obliged, raising her hips a little so he could pull off her dress. As soon as the offending garment was gone, he covered her body with his own and went back to exploring her body with his lips and tongue, while his hands were busy getting his own pants off. Buffy gasped as he found the sensitive spot at her collar bone.
“What about... this?” She whispered.
“I definitely think the priest would frown upon this.” Spike replied, working his way back up her neck to find her lips once more. They both moaned as their tongues met once more, and Spike reached between them to remove the last remaining pieces of clothes. He reached for something, and she heard the sound of foil breaking before he slowly pushed into her. They both froze for a moment before she wrapped her legs around his waist and they started moving as one.
“What about.. oh God.. this” Buffy wrapped her arms tightly around Spike’s neck, holding him as close to her as possible. She felt him smile against her neck.
“I think they reserve this for the honey moon.”
*****
Buffy slowly came back to consciousness as sunlight danced around the room. She reluctantly opened her eyes, only to find Spike zipping his suitcase closed. He felt her eyes upon him and looked up, a small smile on his lips.
“Gotta go. Plane to catch.” He said.
“Oh.” Buffy replied. She had known this was a one time thing. So why did it hurt?
“I’ll see you around?” Spike suggested, and Buffy thought that she saw hope in his eyes for a moment, but then it was gone.
“Yeah, maybe.” Buffy watched as he walked to the door. “Wait!” He turned at her voice. “I just wanted to know when you were going to announce the engagement?” She saw his eyes widen at her words.
“The... engagement? Who’s engagement?” He asked, nervously.
“Well, ours of course.” Buffy replied. “I mean, we did sleep together, I just assumed...”
“Oh... well... I mean... not that I...” He gave her a desperate look. “And you’re completely pulling my leg.” He sighed in relief and Buffy giggled.
“And you completely fell for it.”
“Yeah, you had me there for a while.” He admitted, once more heading for the door. He opened it, but turned back before he left the room. “It was really nice meeting you, Miss Summers.”
“It was nice meeting you too, Mr...” Buffy raised a questioning eye brow.
“Travers.” He smiled at her one last time before closing the door behind him.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!