"Sure you don't need any help, luv?" Spike called to Buffy as he leaned back against a column in the underground temple where Buffy and Faith were pounding the hell out of a half dozen really ugly demons.

"No," Buffy grunted, slamming a fist into one demon and cutting off the head of another as she spun, sword in hand.  "Faith and I can handle this, and you're still recovering."

"Plus, he's too busy checking out your ass to actually help," Faith added as she dispensed with another of the sisterhood with an axe to the gullet.

"He just likes me in leather," the blonde slayer quipped back. She was dressed in the height of fashion--butter soft navy leather pants and a white silk camisole.  This trip had been planned to fill Faith in on the facts of Spike's survival and their reunion. Buffy hadn't expected to fall immediately into a battle.

Trust this hellmouth to be as much a pain in her ass as the one that took Sunnydale with it.

Spike watched carefully as the two slayers moved balletically through the demons, killing with quips and panache.  They really were beautiful when at war, and while he was admiring Buffy's firm ass in the tight pants, he was also very ready to jump in if she needed him, no matter that he was still weak from the battle with Wolfram & Hart which had sent the survivors across the country, fighting and hiding and trying to keep from dying.

Finally, a month ago, the battles had just ended.  They'd remained hidden for two weeks, nursing their wounds and waiting, and when nothing new had attacked them, they'd begun to seek out old friends.

While he'd left Buffy alone before, Spike couldn't do that any longer.  Life was too short and he didn't want to be without her for another moment.  He wasn't sure what his reception would be--if she even knew he was alive--but he'd told Angel he was going to be with her and had caught the first flight to Rome.

Spike was still surprised that Angel hadn't tried to stop him, but he could see that his grandsire had too many important things to deal with to try to win Buffy back himself.  While Spike had just been a thorn in Wolfram & Hart's side, Angel had been the ringleader of the attack on the senior partners.  If the battles were just at a temporary lull, Angel would be the first target of any new attacks.  Spike felt a pang of guilt over that even now, but he was only a cell phone call away, and he'd bring reinforcements.

Surprising ones, at that.

Glancing over at his companion, he shook his head slightly and wondered how long he'd have the patience to wait before he started badgering the man about how he'd survived.

With a loud cry of triumph, Faith dispatched the final demon and both women high fived the other then headed across the temple.  Spike pushed away from the column and grabbed Buffy off the floor, swinging her around.

"Put me down, idiot," she laughed.

"That was bloody marvelous, luv.  Nothing more beautiful than you in battle," he said huskily, setting her down on her toes and keeping her in his arms.

"What about me?" Faith teased snarkily.

"You're a goddess, too, pet."

"Really, Spike, must you stroke her ego?"

Faith rolled her eyes and lightly punched her Watcher on the arm.  "What?  I'm not a goddess?  Then you lied last night as I rode..."

Wesley's hand clapped across her mouth, interrupting her, and he guided her away from the other couple, a broad smirk on his face.

Shaking his head in confusion, Spike smiled down at Buffy.  "First Percy's alive, and second he's banging Faith?"

"Don't remind me," Buffy groaned.  One of the first sights she'd seen in Cleveland had been Faith and Wesley waiting for them in Arrivals at the airport, barely keeping their hands off each other.

"Still need to learn how he survived, and he is definitely alive and human."

"There's plenty of time for that.  I don't think he's going anywhere, and now that the immediate threat is taken care of, we can get on with our visit."  As she spoke, Spike slid his hands down her back to cup her bottom, and she squirmed and smacked him on the chest.  "Spike."

"I warned you when I first saw you in these pants that there was only so much I could take," he growled, dipping his head and kissing her passionately.

"Hey, you two, come on, I've got a room just for that," Faith hollered from across the temple, and Spike and Buffy broke the kiss to follow the other two back into the warm summer night.

"So, that's really all there is to it," Wesley finished, sipping at his beer as he and Spike sat on the couch in Faith's living room, watching a muted football match on the television, decompressing after the battle.  "I died, but then I was alive and here in Cleveland with this firm belief that Faith needed me.  I couldn't find any trace of any of you, so once I found her, I stayed."

Spike nodded and took a drink of his own beer.  "After we got out of L.A. we pretty much kept underground, hiding out as much as possible.  Bloody miracle all of us survived."

Wesley gestured to the obviously stiff left arm of the vampire. "You're hurt, though."

Shrugging his good shoulder, Spike nodded again.  "To be expected.  Even a vampire can only heal so fast.  It's getting better, though, and at least I can use it again."

"And...Illyria's well?"

"It's hard to hurt that one.  She...missed you, Wes.  You should get in touch with her."

"Now that I know where they are, I will.  We could use them here, if they want to relocate."

"Cleveland's just slightly better than that little pissant town in Arkansas where I left them." Spike glanced over at the two women who sat at the little bar that separated the living room from the kitchen.  "So, you and Faith..."

Wesley smiled ruefully.  "There was always something there, and, like you, I discovered there really wasn't time to waste.  I wasted too much with Fred," he added, a bit mournfully.

Wisely saying nothing on that subject, Spike nodded and drank. "I wasn't sure Buffy'd be ready to accept me, but I figured Rome was nice this time of year and if I hung around long enough, she'd give me a chance.  I didn't expect it to happen right off the bat, but I guess she's used this time apart to do some thinking, too."

"What about Angel?" the Watcher asked, innately curious.

"I think, for once, he's the one not ready to be in a relationship. He didn't give me his blessing."  He snorted at that thought.  "But he didn't try to stop me, either."

Across the room, the two Slayers drank wine and gossiped about mutual friends, the Watcher's Council, the hotness of Roman men, and finally got down to the good stuff.

"So, you and Spike doing the nasty yet?"

Buffy flushed and took another drink.  "Not yet.  We're...dating."

Faith snorted.  "Dating?  Isn't that a bit backwards?"

"We screwed it up the first time around by just jumping into bed. This time we're taking it slow, falling in love all over again."

"So you two really didn't do it the night before Sunnydale fell?"

"I didn't say that."  Buffy flushed even redder as Faith chuckled. "But, again, that wasn't a relationship.  That was us both probably dying the next day."

"Yeah, know how that goes.  Robin and I found that the passion of near death didn't carry over well to every day," the brunette said with a sigh.  "Wes, on the other hand..."

"Yeah, what is up with that?" Buffy asked, dropping her voice.

"He's hot."

"He's still Wussley in my mind."

"Oh, B, he's so not that.  There's a dark, dark streak in that man, and it matches mine perfectly.  Plus, he keeps me in line, or at least tries to."

"He is a lot hunkier with the stubble."  Buffy shot a quick glance at the men.

"And the things he can do with his tongue..." Faith teased as Buffy groaned and drained her glass.

Later, after Wesley and Faith had retired, Spike joined Buffy on the balcony.  She leaned against the wrought iron railing, gazing over the slumbering city.  He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Not at all like Sunnydale, is it?"

"Or Rome," she agreed.  "Or L.A., I suppose."

"Never home for me.  Rome could be," he added hopefully.

She smiled and turned in his arms.  "I already told you if you tried to leave me, I was staking you to my bed."

"First I'd have to be in your bed," he replied, his voice low and husky, his eyes darkening.

Buffy's hands slid up his arms to his shoulders, caressing him through the thin red cotton shirt.  "I guess the dating thing was kind of silly."

He shook his head as his fingers slid through the curl of hair on her brow and cupped her cheeks.  "No, not silly.  Frustrating a bit," he joked lightly, "but not silly.  I understand why.  We never did anything normal, Buffy."

"So, why do it now?" she asked what she thought would be his question.

"Because it's important to get it right this time.  We've had more than our share of chances already.  We might not get another, and we've wasted enough time."  His hands lingered on her cheeks, then slid down her arms, to drop to her waist.

Smiling, she nodded.  "Yeah, that's why.  But, you know, we've already had our first date, and our second, third, fourth, fifth.  I think we're past the smooching beneath the porch light stage. So..."  She pulled away from him and took his hand, turning back to the apartment.  "How about you come inside for a night cap and then breakfast and everything in between."

Spike grinned and caught her to him to kiss her again, before following her into the guestroom.

The End