"Move in with you?" she said quietly. Willow had honestly never thought
about it seriously before. The thought of sharing a place with Spike that
was theirs alone, a safe haven from the outside world, was immensely
appealing. But at the same time, it scared her to no end. She was only
nineteen. What would her parents think? What would her friends think? She
sat there thinking long and hard about it.

      "Willow?" Spike actually became worried. He had just assumed she would say
yes. He never considered the possibility of her saying no. "What is the
answer?"

      Willow looked him in the eyes seriously. "Yes."

      Spike stood there stunned for a moment. "Yes?"

      "But not here. Someplace that is truly our own. Something that says Spike
and Willow. Not just Spike's.  Is that okay?" she asked, worried that he
wouldn't warm to the idea at all.

      Instead, she got his cocky grin. "Of course it's alright. This apartment
was on the small side anyway. Plus the bloody landlord wouldn't let me
smoke. What kind of landlord doesn't let the tenant smoke in their own
flat?"

      Willow smiled softly, turning to him, playing gently with his peroxide
blonde hair. She fell asleep murmuring softly to him about moving, what they
would need, where they would live. Their future.
 
 
 

      Buffy at first had been shocked to hear about Willow moving in with Spike.
But she had been very excepting. Now it was two weeks later and she tried
one more time to convince her to stay. "Are you sure Will? We all know Spike
isn't the easiest person to be around. You will be around him twenty-four
hours a day."

      Willow laughed as she packed her stuff into boxes. Her side of the room
looked rather empty and dull, void of any pictures, tapestries, or posters.
"Well, that is kind of the point, Buffy."

      Willow was surprised to see tears in Buffy's eyes. She stopped emptying her
drawers and hugged her friend tightly. Buffy sniffed. "This is stupid. I
mean, you are only moving across town. But what if I lose my best friend?
You will have Spike, and won't need me."

      "Buffy- of course I'll always need you. I need my girls' nights out, and
not to mention, Spike is kind of allergic to the sun. So going tanning at
the beach with him really isn't an option. Besides- after we move in, I
already made Spike promise me we can throw a big party to celebrate. Not to
mention there are always pesky demons floating about that I have to help you
kill. Listen, help me move this stuff into the car. And just think- now you
and Riley have this entire room to yourself. Think about all the delicious
things you can do." Willow winked at Buffy.

      Buffy laughed, grabbing a box and headed down the hall to the loading zone.
 
 
 
 
 

      Oz smiled. He had given Willow the space she needed. He hadn't been pushy.
In fact, he basically stayed away from her for three weeks, only seeing her
from afar. He knew that no matter what she said, he was not out of her
system yet. Willow needed him. He needed her. Plain and simple. He held
tightly to the daisies he picked for Willow. They were her favorite. She
melted everytime she got some.

      He knocked at her door, confident that he could still win her back. Buffy
answered the door, surprised to see Oz there. "Hi." She exclaimed rather
flatly, sounding as if she had been interrupted.

      "Buffy. Is Willow there? I bought these for her." He said, holding out the
flowers for her to see.

Buffy merely nodded. "Oz. I think you should know something. Willow doesn't
live here anymore."

      Oz was bewildered. "When did this happen? Does she live in another dorm
room now? I thought you guys would get along."

      Buffy almost felt bad for him. "We did. We got along great. But… uh. Well,
she kind of moved out to be with Spike."

      "Spike?" Oz looked around. "This has to be a joke. Willow just wouldn't
move in…"

      Buffy shook her head. "I'm afraid she did. Poof. Just like that. He asked
her, she said yes." She paused quickly, and her voice softened. "Oz, I am
going to tell you this because I am your friend. Leave her alone. She is
happy. She is in love. She doesn't need you to confuse her and make things
complicated. Please. If you really love her, you will do this for her.
Listen- I gotta go. But take my advice okay?"

      Oz nodded, his feet moving him to who knew where. At that point, he didn't
care. He knew he couldn't take Buffy's advice. Not without a fight. Oz
looked at the moon. For nights till it was full.
 

Part 8
 

    Willow turned over and looked at Spike, smiling, taking in his lean muscular form. She really didn’t want to wake him up. He just looked so…dead. Willow giggled to herself at the thought. ‘Peaceful. He looks so peaceful’. She corrected herself. Softly, she began to leave a trail of kisses down his chest. When he didn’t appear to move, she gave Spike a slight nudge. Still nothing. ‘Guess he sleeps like the dead too.’

    She thought. Finally, she shoved him off the bed, sending him crashing to the floor.

    Thud.

    “Why the bloody hell did you do that?” the blonde vamp asked her, holding his head. Truth was, Spike had been awake the entire time, enjoying her soft caressed on his body. He had never imaged that she would resort to such violent tactics. He was teaching her well.

    “Well, you wouldn’t get up.” The redhead replied her eyes wide and innocent. “We need to hurry up. Buffy and the others will be here in an hour.”

    Spike rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe that he had agreed to letting her throw a little welcoming party for their new apartment. But he was useless when he was around her. He couldn’t say no. So here he was, throwing a dinner party for her friends. “The things I do for you…” he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

    Willow just smiled even more. “I know. Now, hurry up. We still have to cook dinner and you have to set the table, get dressed, etc.”

    Buffy and the Gang rang the doorbell at exactly 6pm. They were dressed up to the nines, just as Willow had instructed. They were all curious about this wonderful apartment that Spike and Willow had rented. No one had been allowed to see it yet, not until they had finished decorating the place. They certainly were in a nice enough neighborhood- it made Buffy wonder how they could ever afford it.

    Quickly, she glanced over at Riley. He looked uncomfortable. Here he was attending the dinner party of hostile 17. As far as Riley knew, he could be dinner. She smiled, understanding his nervousness. Her attention was diverted however, as Willow clicked open the door and let her friends in.

    Buffy gasped, Anya wowed, and Xander went- “Cool, big screen TV!” moving to the leather couch, flopping himself down on it. Giles cleared his throat and handed Willow a bottle of chilled wine. The apartment was amazing. High cathedral ceilings, paintings adorning the walls, leather couches. The walked from room to room, equally impressed with the rest of the place. Two bedrooms, a dining room, and a living room.

    “This is amazing. How did you get this place?” Buffy finally got out, after the royal tour was completed.

    Willow blushed. “Well, this isn’t exactly all ours. You see, we are kind of house sitting for now. The actual owners are in Europe backpacking for the year, and for a much lower rental cost, we are house sitting. We get all the perks of having this fabulous apartment.”

    Spike chimed in. “Yeah, plus the bloody owner smokes, so I can light up a cigarette once in a while.”

    “Dinner’s almost ready. Won’t you all sit down?”

    The entire gang walked over to dining room, and sat down in their respective seats. The room was lit with dozens of candles, creating a soft soothing ambience. Willow brought over the appetizers, and soon the friends were engaged in lively conversation, good food, and laughter. They progressed from dessert to Trivial Pursuit, Willow and Giles excelling in the game. Buffy complained that there were no slayer questions so the game was biased and quit.

    “Buffy.” Willow complained, when she took her circle off the board.

    “No, Will. I refuse to play anymore. This game is stupid. Besides, it’s past one o’clock, time for bed.”

    Riley, who had finally started to relax, grumbled at Buffy. “But I was going to beat Willow. All I need is one more piece of pie!”

    Giles smiled. “Well, I guess that makes me the winner!” He announced, with Riley and Willow both making faces. “It is late, we should get going. Willow, Spike, I assume we will see you at the apartment tomorrow night?”

    Willow nodded. “Yep. Research it is. Count us in.”

    “Good. I did have a good time tonight.”

    Xander nodded wholeheartedly. “Yeah, anytime you need someone to come warm up that couch and watch that big old TV, I’m your man.”

    Willow hugged Xander. “Anytime. Whenever you want to come over.”

    Willow could hear Spike mimic her in the kitchen. “Anytime you want to come over. Great invite the moron over.” She smiled, knowing that despite himself, he had a good time.

    They all filed out of the apartment building, laughing over different things that were said that night. Climbing into Giles car, the gang took off, all headed off to be with their respective loved ones.

    Oz looked on from the bushes. He looked up at the moon. Only one more night. He could wait to claim her till then.
 
 
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