“Does this dress make me look fat?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you’re only fourteen and already asking me that, you look beautiful no matter what you wear.”

“It’s Christmas, Dad, I can’t just wear anything. I want to look extra pretty for the party,” Dawn replied.

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, and does that have to do with impressing Connor?”

She blushed, turning away from his gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, boys are icky.”

“If only that were true, but I know it’s not. I overheard you talking with your little girly mate on the phone.”

Dawn gasped. “You were listening to my private conversation?”

“Not on purpose,” he amended. “The walls are bloody thin in this place. We’ll discuss this later; just find something to put on. You wouldn’t want to be late for the party, would you?”

It was now Dawn’s turn to roll her eyes. “We’re only going next door.”

He smiled when she headed back to the bathroom, taking a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror. Spike decided to go without hair gel tonight.


* * * * *


“Why do I have to spend Christmas with him? It’s not like he actually wants me around, I’ll only get ignored like always.”

Buffy rubbed her temples, feeling a migraine coming on. “I know this isn’t what you had in mind, but this is the first time in years that your father has tried to make some progress where you’re concerned. I can’t just tell him no if he wants to spend the holidays with you. It’s only for a few days; we can have our own Christmas when you get back.”

Connor let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine, but don’t expect me to be nice to him.”

Buffy went to answer the door after Connor walked away, forcing a smile on her face as she let her ex-husband in. “Aren’t you a little early? The party doesn’t start for another twenty minutes.”

“You should just be glad I came at all, I would have waited until after it was over to come get him.”

She rolled her eyes. “How considerate of you, Connor’s in his room. I talked with him, but he’s not happy about this arrangement.”

Angel scoffed. “Of course he’s not, you’ve done all you can to turn him against me.”

Buffy was taken aback at his accusation. “Are you seriously blaming me for that? You walked out on us, Angel. Believe me; you turned him against you all on your own. You can’t blame Connor for not wanting to spend the holidays with you and your new girlfriend, when you probably just have every intention of ignoring him. Why do you even bother?”

“How did you know about Darla?”

Buffy rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that night. “This is a small town, and it figures that’s the one thing you would hear the most out of everything I just said. Look, I’m not getting into this with you right now. My guests will be arriving soon, if this is the only time I’m going to see my son for Christmas, I don’t want to waste it by arguing.”

“He’s my son, too, and to answer your question of why I’m bothering, Darla is big on family. She wanted a chance to know Connor,” Angel explained.

“Right, so this isn’t even about you actually wanting to spend time with your son. This is about you impressing the new woman in your life, who by the way, I don’t want anywhere near him. You can date whoever the hell you want, I could really care less, but I don’t know anything about Darla. She better not be staying over at your house while Connor is there, or I guarantee this is the last time you’ll be seeing him.”

Angel laughed. “Why do you keep treating him like a child, Buff? Connor’s a big boy now, he’s fifteen and I’m sure knows plenty about sex. You can shield him from it all you want, but it won’t do you any good.”

Buffy would have punched him right there if it wasn’t for her first arrivals. She smiled at her neighbors, while continuing to send a scowl in Angel’s direction. “Hey, guys, I’m glad you could make it.”

Dawn greeted Buffy cheerily, and then hurried in the house to look for Connor.

Spike stared Angel down; he never did like the ponce. The man had everything and threw it all away; he was obviously not too bright.

Angel caught the looks they were both giving him, rolling his eyes. “Whatever, I have better things to do. Tell Connor I’ll be back to get him in a couple of hours, and he better be ready.”

Buffy clenched her fists, trying to keep her temper in check.

“Bloody git, you all right?”

She smiled now, some of the tension leaving her body. “I’ll be fine, I just hate that Connor is staying with him for Christmas. Angel doesn’t even care; he’s only showing off for his new girlfriend. Connor’s already been hurt by him enough, I don’t want him to ruin my son’s Christmas while he’s at it.”

Spike entered the house, taking his coat off. “He’s proof of the kind of people who should never reproduce. Don’t let him get to you, love, he’s not worth it. We’ll just make this party the best for Connor, so he can have some happy memories.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.”

Spike wanted to tell her more. That it was no problem, that she looked incredibly stunning tonight, but as usual, none of it came out. He always reverted back to William whenever he was around Buffy Summers; she seemed to be the only woman capable of bringing that side out. Buffy, and of course his daughter, who meant the absolute world to him. The same daughter who was now grinning at him, a smirking Connor at her side. Before he could ask what they were looking at, Dawn pointed to something above their heads and his eyes widened when he glanced up to notice the mistletoe that he was standing under with Buffy. She had the same expression on her face, and he couldn’t tell if that was a good sign or not.

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the teenagers. “Did you have something to do with this? I distinctly remember the mistletoe being in the kitchen.”

Connor shrugged. “I thought this was a better spot. Go ahead; you wouldn’t want to break tradition. We promise not to look.” He grabbed Dawn’s hand and pulled his giggling friend into the living room, giving the adults some privacy.

Buffy turned back to Spike, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry about that; he has been on my case to start dating again. I know Angel hasn’t been in the picture for about three years now, but I’m always wary of bringing someone new into Connor’s life. I don’t mean to put any pressure on you…”

He cut her off with his mouth, not able to resist upholding tradition, but it was so much more than that. The kids gave him courage to do the one thing he wanted to do for a long time now. His lovely wife, Drusilla, passed away six years ago and Spike hadn’t really dated much in all that time, but was willing to make an exception for Buffy Summers. He cupped her cheek, nibbling on her bottom lip as he sucked it in his mouth. He never wanted to stop, but knew they had to breathe eventually.

Buffy came back to herself, feeling lightheaded at the best kiss she could ever remember having.

Spike pecked the tip of her nose as he took a step back, hoping she didn’t regret what just happened between them.

“Okay, so, apparently you’re not opposed to the idea of us maybe being something more.”

He chuckled, shaking his head at just the thought of that. “Definitely not, I’ve wanted to ask you out for a while now. I just didn’t think you saw me as more than a friend, or neighbor.”

Buffy blushed. “You’re one of the best guys I know, Spike. I adore Dawn, and she’s been such a great influence on Connor. I’ve always thought of you as more than a friend, I just figured you wouldn’t be interested in me.”

He kissed her again at that implication; it had to be the craziest thing he’d ever heard. They made out like teenagers until more of her guests arrived, it was going to be the best Christmas ever.


* * * * *


“It’s about time; those two never would have taken the plunge if we didn’t give them a push.”

Dawn agreed. “Grown ups can be so dense sometimes, what would they do without us?”

Connor smiled, pulling Dawn down on the couch with him. “If I wasn’t going to spend the holidays with my lame dad, this would actually be a pretty decent Christmas.”

Dawn rested her head on his shoulder, not liking the sound of that. “Maybe we can still get you out of it, just say that you and your mom will be spending the holidays with us instead.”

“I don’t think anything could get me out of it at this point, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I heard him say that he only wanted me there because of his stupid girlfriend; I’ll just have to make sure not to be on my best behavior. I bet he’ll never want me back again after that. I wonder if she’ll like my bug collection.”

Dawn laughed; it was definitely going to be a Christmas to remember.

The End