"Her Territory"
Author: A. Price
Email: andramichelle@yahoo.com
Notes: Oh the line of the song is from Underneath your Clothes by Shakira.
Xander's POV
He's back and he's breathing. It's enough to make a guy sick. Look at him, over there helping wash dishes. Idiot, Buffy has a dishwasher. Which makes me wonder why is Buffy washing dishes? Look how thier hands touch as he takes the dish from her to dry. Have they no shame?
He' s been back , what three weeks all humany and Buffy swears they are going slow, they are friends. Friends, right, not from where I stand. They touch at every opportunity, small touches that look more intimate then they should. Like now - he put the last dry dish away and she patted his arm and said "thanks."
The way she looks at him reminds me of that song,,,,,"There's the man I chose, there's my territory."
Buffy has staked her territory with Spike whether *she* knows it or not, she's chosen Spike.
There he goes, he's putting on his coat now and he leans close to her, puts his hand on his shoulder, "I'm gonna get home now."
She leans into him slightly, as if she doesn't want anyone to notice, "I'll walk you out." Surprise, surprise.
He says his goodbyes and they are out the door. Who do they think they are fooling?
Willow's POV
I'm watching Xander watch Buffy and Spike. I'm watching his annoyance rise up but he's being a good guy he's keeping it to himself. Buffy and Spike, what a pair. He's come back with a soul and trying to make amends and I know something about wanting to make amends. She says they are going to take it slow and I think she really intended that. But there is just no way, the feelings between them are to strong, they beg to be acknowledged not tamped down. I used to know what it felt like to have feelings that strong...
I watch them washing the dishes and I notice something, Buffy laughs alot around Spike. He makes her happy, and he listens to her. While they wash the dishes he asks about her day and when she goes into detail about an annoying customer at the Doublemeat, he really listens to her. And then he offers suggestions on what she could do in that situation next time, and they don't include violence. And he acts like listening to her drone on about work is as important as listening to her talk about an important patrol.
Their hands meet as Buffy hands him a dish to dry and for a split second they linger, just barely touching but relishing the feel of each other if only for that second. And I smile at them, for them. She deserves someone who loves her that completely. Her hand resting on his arm and her soft, "Thanks," brings such a smile to Spike's face. I think that maybe, just maybe one of us is going to be happy for a change and to think that it's Buffy... after all she's been through, well she deserves it.
After a good dinner and great friendly conversation, Spike goes for his coat and announces it's time to for him to leave, he makes the announcement with his hand on Buffy's shoulder, they are standing so close it's almost like they are one. She's going to walk him out and I have to stifle a laugh, Xander is fuming and Buffy thinks that no one else notices what's between them, or maybe she hasn't completely noticed it herself yet.
Go on Buffy walk him out, enjoy your time with him, time can pass too fast with the one you love and yes - I'm sure she loves him.
Dawn's POV
All night long, Buffy and Spike have not been more then a few feet apart. I want to giggle at them, but I don't want to break the spell. Spike is human now and he's back and despite the anger I had at him for leaving, I really missed him. Buffy did too. She says they are friends now, they are going slow. More internal giggling, she may want to go slow but it doesn't look slow to me.
They touch at every opportunity, when we played cards earlier, she ran her hand through his hair when she passed behind his chair to sit down, naturally in the chair beside him. He then wipes a bit of dip off of her chin for her with his thumb and even I can see that there was more behind the touch then when your mom licks her thumb and washes your face with it. Their eyes catch and they stare at each other much longer then needed, before she self conciously goes back to her cards. I think Spike was actually blushing.
There weren't many dishes tonight, so instead of loading the dishwasher, Spike helped Buffy wash them up. More touching...and I believe thats the most I've ever seen Buffy smile while washing dishes. He makes her happy, I think she knows that now, I think they won't be going slow much longer, at least I hope not.
Spike is leaning very close to Buffy, he's touching her shoulder, she smiles as she turns to him. He's leaving now and - yay big sis! She's gonna walk him out despite the steam coming from Xander's ears.
Willow is smiling at me as we watch them go out the door. I turn to them, "So when do you think, they are going to stop the 'going slow" thing?" Willow laughs with me while Xander rolls his eyes.
Buffy and Spike
Okay I can do this, I can go all night without pulling him down on the floor and kissing him until he has to come up for breath. I know I can. Buffy just could resist ruffling his hair as she walked by him though, no one paid attention to that.
Spike is grinning at her as he reaches his thumb over to her face and wipes off a bit of dip from her chin, "Got something on your chin, luv." Their eyes meet and he cannot will himself to look away. After a few minutes she begins to play with her cards. I can do this, I can sit by her without wanting to push that hair off of her face, without kissing her...
They managed to get the dishes washed with a minimum of touching or so they thought but they couldn't resist the brushing of hands as dishes were passed to the other and it was only natural to touch that wonderful strong arm as she thanked him. Nothing strange about that.
Okay I can't stay here another minute if I can't hold her, so I better go. I put my hand on her shoulder and I feel her tense up, it's a good kind of tense though she's almost leaning into my touch but not enough for the others to notice.
Hmmm...He's leaving, I've got to walk him out, I have to have a minute alone with him or I'm gonna explode.
He says his goodbyes and finally - alone together!
"Guess I better get going." Spike pulls Buffy against him and kisses her hair.
"Hey, is that a goodnight kiss?" She pulls back from him laughing softly and shaking her head, "I'll be so glad when a little time passes and we can tell them all."
"I know, but we don't want to listen to them tell us we are rushing so for now, we are supposed to be taking it slow, someone might be looking." He grins back at her, as he peeks over her shoulder at the door..
She pulls his face down to hers for a long, deep kiss, "Nah, it's okay they don't suspect a thing."
The End