Author: Horsey Spike

E-mail: HorseySpike@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me. Joss and Co. owns them. Blah,
blah, and blah. The song "Invert," by Peter Searcy, isn't mine either.

Distribution: List archvies and anyone else I've given permission to archive
my fic. All else, ask.

Spoilers: Based off some parts of Season 4 of BtVS, like Willow and Tara
getting together, and a little of the season finale, and that Spike's living
in a crypt.

Summary: Tara's gone, and Spike's got his chance.

Author's Notes: I wrote this, based on some conversations I had with a very
special person in my life. See Dedication.Also unbeta'd. Sorry I am.

Dedicated to: Nolan, because I know you'll always be there for me. We can be
so perfect.
_____________________

"She's gone, Spike, she's gone." Willow ran into Spike's musty old crypt,
finding him on a stone bench, watching his soaps.

"Who's gone, pet?" He asked, taking her into his arms.

"Tara." Willow sniffed, "She's gone. Went home. Said being with me was too
painful and she couldn't deal."

"I'm so sorry, precious." Spike cradled her against his chest, outwardly
holding her for all the pain that was going through her body, inwardly
cheering, because now he'd get his chance at the red-haired witch.

Willow and Spike had been friends for over a year, ever since after the Adam
disaster. They had laughed, cried, and talked about everything.

About Spike's past, about his early years as a vampire, about his love for
Angelus and Drusilla, and about the time when Angel got his soul, and about
everything else in his life.

Willow talked about her own family, and about the pressure of life, and the
pressure that the Scooby Gang put on her, and the pressure her parents put
on her, and the rest of her life.

They were each other's outs to the harsh stuff in life. They could confide
in each other anything, and not worry about what the other would think,
because they remained unjudging, just comforting, and understanding.

And now Tara, whom Willow had been together with for a year and a half, had
know abandoned her.

Spike brought Willow over to the stone bench he had recently vacated. He let
her sit, then went over to the generator-run mini fridge to get her a soda,
he kept in stock for her visits.

"Talk to me, pet. You know you can." He said, handing her the drink.

"Thanks." She said, giving him a small smile. He brought a blanket over to
her, and despite the sun shining through the window-type things, wrapped her
in it.

"She just left, Spike. Gone, poof, like vampire dust." Willow popped the top
to the drink. "I didn't think anything was wrong, but apparently she thought
so. I don't know what was wrong. She didn't even leave a note. Just,
'Willow, I'm leaving. It's to hard for me.' Then she took her bag and left."

"You're too good for her, pet." Spike said, rubbing her back. "If she's so
blind to give up the only great thing in her life, than it's her loss."

"I'll always have you, right, Spikey?" Willow asked, using the nick-name he
hated.

He grimaced at her, then smiled. "You'll always have me, Willy." -Though not
in the way I want.- He added silently.

"Thanks." She looked down at her drink. "I should be going."

"Why? You don't have a class, and I doubt Slutty will miss you, and the
whelp and Anya are too busy shagging to miss you for the next hour. Stay
with me. I'm not going to sleep today."

Willow smiled at him. "Okay."

"Good." Spike adjusted his position on the bench, so he could pull Willow
into his half embrace. "Now, Giles told me you talked to the great poof.
Tell me what's up with him."

"You mean, other than the fact he has his hair cut really short?" Willow
asked innocently.

"What?" Spike exclaimed, grinning in amusement. "He cut his hair? No way."

"Actually, Cordelia dared Gunn to do it while Angel was sleeping. Gunn
almost didn't make it out alive."

"No shit." Spike settled back down. "You should've told me sooner. I'd be
down in LA already, making fun of the hairdini himself."

"Exactly why I didn't. It's not nice to make fun of Angel."

"Yes it is."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes, this is how quickly a conversation with Willow Rosenburg can degrade."

"Funny, you cute, undead guy."

"You think I'm cute?" Spike asked, a glint in his eyes. -Maybe this is the
perfect time to see how she feels about me.-

~~I’m as scared of you as you are of me
Yeah it’s nothing new and there’s nothing we can do about it.~~

"You know you're gorgeous." Willow said, blushing faintly.

"It's just different to hear you say that."

Willow at him from under her lashes, wondering how far she should take it
with the blond vampire.

Should she say her feelings, and risk being rejected from the friend that
had been with her when her others abandoned her, and ruin that friendship?

Spike, unbeknownst to her, was wondering the same thing. Should he tell her
he had been in love with her ever since the day she had come in smiling and
happy, and planted that kiss on his cheek and given in the rose, when she
and Tara had finally consummated their relationship?

~~You can invent me
Maybe one day I’ll invent you
We can be so perfect~~

"I love you." Spike murmured to her, while watching her red hair glint in
the faint, non-fatal light, watching her lips turn up in small smile at his
words.

"What?" She asked.

"I love you." Spike repeated in a clearer tone. "I have for a while now."

"You have?" Willow asked.

"I have. Ever since, ever since the day I knew I would never get a chance to
be with you."

"But now.."

~~In the interest of time
I’ll get straight to the point
You can make me what you want me to be
Someone to make you smile
At least for a little while~~

"But now, you're not with Tara anymore, and I've been single for a bloody
long while, and I needed to tell you that I love you." It was getting easier
to say everytime.

"I can't." Willow said, shaking her head slightly. "I can't take this, if
you're just trying to cheer me up. Don't mess with my feelings this way,
please, not right now."

~~You can invent me
Maybe one day I’ll invent you
We can be so perfect~~

"I'm not, Willow, can't you see that? I'm telling the truth, believe it or
not." Spike gave her a wry smile. "I don't want you out of my life. I heard
you talking about going away for your junior and senior years of college.
Don't leave me, Willow, I don't think I'd be able to stand Sunnyhell if
you're gone."

"I'm scared, Spike. Your feelings are scaring me." Willow tried curling up
on herself. She didn't want to be hurt again. If Spike was betraying her
trust and hurting her again, Willow didn't want to be a part of it.

"What are you afraid of, Red? Are you afraid of me? What I'll do? That I'll
shag you, and that'd be it?"

"Spike, no." Willow laid her hand on his chest, then flushed at the close
contact, and dropped it. "It's just that I've been hurt. By Oz, by Tara, by
Xander, and by Buffy." She paused and looked up at him through her
eyelashes. "You've hurt me too, Spike. What's to make me believe you won't
hurt me now?"

"Because I love you, Willow. More than I ever thought possible. And I don't
know what you want me to be in your life, but I know we could be so perfect,
and I don't want to let you slip through my fingers." Spike took her hands,
and brought them up to his lips.

"I know you've been hurt. You're not the only one. When Dru left me, I
thought I would die. Maybe we both need each other."

Spike searched her eyes. "But all I know is that I love you now, more than I
ever loved Drusilla, more than I ever loved Angelus, and more than I have
ever loved anything my entire life. I want you with me, before I lose you to
someone else again."

Willow closed her eyes, and tried to settle the swirling of emotions inside
her. Spike was in love with her. In love with her more than he was in love
with Dru, and he loved had Drusilla a lot. He came back for her. Despite all
the hurt and humiliation, he'd come back to her.

"Willow, what do you want me to be for you? I'll be anything, just let me be
apart of your life some more."

"Be mine." She whispered.

"Always." Spike whispered back, drawing her into his embrace. "Always."

"Kiss me now?" Willow murmured into his chest.

A smile quirked Spike lips, as her tilted Willow chin, to look at her eyes.

"Alright." He said, already bringing his lips down on hers, their eyes
falling shut as one, and falling into each other at once.

They will be so perfect.
 

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