Parts: 21 - 25 (End)
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~Part: 21~
Spike was kissing her. She'd have pinched herself if she hadn't been too busy concentrating on the feel of his lips against hers. If it was a dream, well, she didn't want to wake up just yet. Willow returned his soft kiss, moving her lips against his, opening her mouth to his questing tongue, their tongues touching as she moaned softly, moving closer to him. The kiss was tender and gentle at first, a full exploration of each others' mouths, his hand stroking her face as her hand moved to the back of his head. The kiss gradually deepened, became less gentle and more passionate, tongues and teeth, lips and hands.
Finally, reluctantly, needing to breathe, Willow pulled back. Her lips were red and swollen, her eyes glazed with desire and need, her breathing erratic, her heart racing. She looked at Spike, noticing that he had a similar look in his eyes that she knew had to be in her own. She wasn't sure what to do now, wanting nothing more than to kiss him again, fall back on the sofa, clothes disappearing and then feel him inside her.
Spike hadn't meant for that to happen. He'd wanted to kiss her, certainly, but he'd figured it would be a gentle peck, a friendly little kiss to appease his sudden desire for her, until he'd had time to figure out exactly how he felt. Instead, she'd kissed him back and he'd had to resist the urge to just rip her clothes off and bury himself deep inside her warmth. He felt her green eyes on his face, looking up and catching their stare. He ran a hand through his hair, not knowing what to say, what to do. Not a month ago, he was convinced that he was in love with Buffy. Now, only a couple of weeks after her death, he felt himself falling in love with her best friend. Okay, so what he was feeling for Willow far transcended what he felt for Buffy, but it was still so sudden, such a confusing revelation that he'd barely begun to accept the undeniable truth of it. Now, they'd kissed and what a kiss it had been. He was hard and aroused just from feeling her lips against his. What were they going to do now?
"Spike, um, what just happened?" Willow finally spoke, knowing that they needed to talk about, she needed to know what was happening. She'd lost so much in the last few months, Joyce and Buffy and Tara. She couldn't handle losing someone else that she loved, and especially not when it was Spike. If it hadn't been for him, she didn't know what she'd have done since Buffy died. He'd helped her, been there for her, become someone very important to her. She couldn't lose him over a kiss, even if it had been the best kiss she'd ever experienced, so she needed to know what he was thinking and feeling at the moment.
"I don't know, Willow," he sighed, not sure what to say. Somehow 'I really did love Buffy but it would appear that I also love you and probably have for years and my feelings for you don't lessen what I felt for her, but I think I love you more and do you think you could ever love me' just didn't seem very poetic or romantic.
"Oh," she said, disappointment in her eyes as she looked away from him. He hadn't meant to kiss her, didn't have the same kinds of feelings for her that she was beginning to feel for him, didn't want her or love her or want to be hers. She should have known, wishing now it had been a dream.
"Red, I didn't mean," Spike heard her voice, knew he'd said the wrong thing. She didn't look at him, instead studying the carpet as if she'd never seen it before. With a low growl, he muttered, "Bloody hell," before he raised her face and kissed her again, putting all of his emotions into the kiss, wanting her to know what he was feeling, no matter how confusing and new.
They kissed for several minutes, finally releasing each other when Willow was no longer able to ignore her need to breathe properly. She looked at him, saw many emotions flashing in his eyes, wishing she understood what was happening. She spoke softly, "Spike, what's happening between us?"
"We kissed," he said slowly.
"Yeah, we did," she agreed, thinking that was the understatement of the century.
"Did you, well, did you like it?" he asked quietly, his eyes showing his vulnerability as he waited for her response.
"Yes, I did like it," she said, her face blushing as she admitted that, wondering why he had to ask. She thought her reaction was pretty darn obvious.
"Red, I, uh," he struggled to find the words, not sure if he could say them, no sure how she felt, thinking it was too soon, that they were still grieving over the loss of the blonde slayer that they'd loved in different ways, that his feelings for Willow just complicated things, that she wouldn't want his love anymore than the other women he'd ever fallen in love with, that she couldn't deal with his declaration right now with having to take care of Dawn and tell Angel about Buffy and that he'd just make her life worse by confessing his growing affection.
"Did you like it?" she asked, her voice nearly a whisper. Oh God, had she really just asked him that? What was he trying to tell her? Probably that it was a mistake and that he hadn't meant to kiss her and that they should just forget about the best kiss she'd ever had and pretend that nothing happened and here she was asking if he'd liked it.
"God yes," he groaned softly, easily remembering the feeling of her lips against his and her body pressing against his own.
"Really?" she looked at him, unable to keep the hopeful look from her eyes.
He looked into her eyes, all the confusion fading when he saw the gentle smile on her face. He loved Willow, was completely head over hells in love with the beautiful and sexy redhead. He opened his mouth to tell her, intending to use every romantic and poetic word he'd ever learned, wanting her to know that he was sincere, hoping that such words would cause her to return his feelings, giving them a chance to be together and be happy. Instead of the convincing poetic words of affection and devotion and desire, he said, "Willow, I think I love you."
~Part: 22~
Fuck. That hadn't been what he'd meant to say at all. He cringed at how stupid he sounded, wishing he could back and erase the moment and instead say all the romantic words that he could think of to convince her that he was sincere and worthy of her love. He was so caught up mentally kicking himself that he almost didn't hear her response, his eyes widening as he looked at her in surprise.
"I think I love you, too," Willow whispered, a shy smile on her face as she looked at him.
"What?" he was dumbfounded, having expected for her to push him away and declare him beneath her, his past experiences not giving him a hell of a lot of confidence when it came to matters of love.
"I don't understand it, honestly, but I can't deny how I feel," Willow said softly, wondering if it had been a mistake confessing her growing affection for him. Had he just been playing with her? Did he really love her? Their kisses had been emotional and tender and needy and she'd been convinced that he really felt something for her.
"You love me?" he repeated, needing to hear it again, to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
"I think so," she nodded, sighing, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I do."
"You love me," Spike slowly smiled, seeing the truth in her beautiful green eyes.
"I think we've established that," she muttered, her cheeks flushing slightly after having to nearly defend her feelings. She didn't understand them, really, but she couldn't deny them. She and Spike had gotten closer over the last weeks and become friends. She'd never planned on falling in love with him, certainly not so soon. She had to wonder if maybe she hadn't always felt something for him and it was just now able to be recognized. She didn't really care, knowing that she did feel something for him, desire and need and friendship and love. It was all there, when she looked at him or felt him or talked to him.
"I love you," Spike said softly, giving her a wry smile, "I didn't mean for it to happen, Red. I've always liked ya, enjoyed being around ya, but I never planned for it to become more than just what it was."
"You really love me?" she whispered, not aware that she was as insecure and fragile as he was concerning being loved and wanted.
"Yeah, I do," he moved his hand along her cheek, "I cared for Buffy, might have loved her in a way, and my feelings for you don't change what I felt for her, but, with you, I feel complete. You make me feel things, I can't even describe it. Your smile, your lips, your voice, your heart….I love you, Willow. God, I sound like such a poetic sap. Some demon, huh?"
"I like poetic saps," Willow smiled, "and quit thinking you're a lesser demon because you can love and feel things for others. I think it makes you special. I know that this is too soon, that it doesn't really make a lot of sense, but I don't care. I think I always felt something for you, a connection of some sort. Since Buffy, well, the last few days we've been able to really talk and I think it slowly became love somewhere along the way."
"Ya think I'm special, huh?" an arrogant smile crossed Spike's handsome face as he caused her to laugh, which caused him to kiss her again. They shared their passion and love, one kiss after another, gentle and tender and deep and needy and explorative.
They were so caught up in kissing and enjoying their newfound love that they didn't hear the exclamation of triumph from the bedroom and didn't see the smiling teenager doing a jubilant dance upon seeing the two most important people in her life admitting their mutual love and then kissing so romantically. Dawn shut the bedroom door quietly, not wanting to disturb them, crawling back into bed with a huge smile on her face, happiness in her eyes as she thought of Willow and Spike and how perfect they were together. She'd always love Buffy and miss her sister, but she had realized over the last couple of days that life goes on. She snuggled under the covers, the smile still on her face as she drifted off to sleep.
~Part: 23~
Dawn woke up with a smile on her face. She took a shower and got dressed, the smile still on her lips. Not even a week ago, she'd honestly wondered if there would ever be a reason to smile again. Buffy had died and she felt guilty, even though she knew that it wasn't really her fault. It was easy to know that in her mind, but her heart still believed she was the reason Buffy had died. If not for Willow and Spike, she probably would have done something really stupid. They'd saved her, their love and devotion to her reminding her that she wasn't alone, even if Buffy was no longer alive. And now, now they had given her a reason to smile.
She might be young, but she was not stupid nor was she blind. She didn't doubt that Spike had loved Buffy, knowing that the blond vampire had loved her sister in his own way. Dawn had seen the way he had been looking at Willow since Buffy died, though, and could recognize real love. It wasn't that she was dismissing his affection for Buffy, but she had never seen him look at her sister during the many months of his crush on the slayer in the same way he'd looked at Willow over the last few days.
She also hadn't ever seen Willow look at another with that same loving gaze, full of passion and wonder and intensity. It hadn't happened overnight, wasn't something caused by the loss of Buffy, wasn't them using each other or any of that other nonsense that some might suspect considering the circumstances.
Willow had had a crush on Spike for years. The redhead had done a very
job of hiding it from everyone, including herself, but Dawn had seen it.
There were times when Willow's eyes would unknowingly follow Spike as he
walked across the room, the way she would blush softly if he caught her
watching, the way she was always a bit nervous whenever she had to work
closely with him. Yep, it had been a crush, though Dawn wasn't entirely
sure when it had started. She had memories that had been provided to her,
but they were like distant dreams and mostly from Buffy's point of view
so she wouldn't have noticed anything if Buffy hadn't noticed. And, as
much as she loved her sister, Buffy had never been the most observant person
in the world.
Dawn had a feeling that Spike's crush on Willow had started after he'd
been taken by the Initiative. She had memories of him always trying to
get Wilow's attention, teasing her or talking to her or sitting real close
beside her.
Dawn didn't know why he had never made a move on Willow before he decided to turn his attention to Buffy. She'd never considered Spike or Willow stupid, but she had to admit that they had both been very moronic by pretending that there wasn't something happening between them. Even after Willow started dating Tara and Spike convinced himself he wanted Buffy, she'd noticed that there was still a bit of tension every time they were together.
Since Buffy had died, they'd been forced to be together for her sake, both loving her and wanting to make sure she was okay. During that time, they'd no longer been able to deny what they were feeling, had most likely felt for years. When she had caught them kissing the night before, she had felt happy and content, as if everything would actually be okay.
She knew that she would always miss Buffy, knew that there would be times that she'd get very sad thinking about her sister, but life went on. Buffy wouldn't want any of them moping around or mourning. She'd want them living, since she had died to insure that they could, she'd want them falling in love and being happy and enjoying life. Buffy always wanted their happiness, even Spike's, and Dawn couldn't help thinking that her sister would be very pleased by the growing relationship between Spike and Willow. The teen quietly opened the door and peered into the living room. A soft smile crossed her face as she saw Willow sleeping in Spike's arms, his hand resting on her shoulder, her head laying against his chest. They looked beautiful, Dawn decided, as if they were meant for each other.
Dawn crept as silently as possible to the door, flinching when the door squeaked as she opened it. She glanced at the couch, sighing in relief when she saw that her friends were still sleeping. She left the door cracked open and hurried down the hall. She wanted to surprise them with breakfast, make them smile for helping her smile again. She quickly made some bacon, eggs and toast. It wasn't very fancy, but it wasn't like Angel had much of a choice of foods in his kitchen. She was lucky she'd found what she had, considering they'd used up some of his food the previous afternoon. His human friends appeared to keep an adequate supply of food in the kitchen, at least, and they seemed to prefer easy to make snack items.
~Part: 24~
Dawn heated a mug of blood for Spike, getting it the perfect temperature, tossing some crackers and cookies onto a plate for him to dip in the blood. She paused a moment, laughing softly as she realized that it might be strange to some that she considered it perfectly normal to heat blood for a vampire and give him dunking food for said blood. Life was definitely not boring and she loved it. Once she was finished with the tray, she went back upstairs, careful not to spill the orange juice or blood.
When she arrived back at the room, she smiled when she saw that Willow and Spike were waking up. Spike was looking at Willow as if she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, his fingers tracing her face as he seemed to be adapting to the idea that she returned his love. Willow was smiling softly, the lovely smile that said 'I love you and always will' that Dawn got to see a lot, though this one also had a slight twist at the corner that was a bit sexy-like that seemed to also say 'you're gorgeous and we're so going to shag later'. Dawn bounced a bit at seeing all their smiles and affectionate looks, her smile widening even more as she entered the room.
"I made breakfast," she beamed as she watched them look at her sheepishly. She laughed, "Today is a beautiful day! I have bacon and orange juice and blood and cookies. And that is such a freaky combination that it could only mean I made breakfast for the two people I love most in the world!"
"Someone's chipper this morning," Spike smiled slightly, pleased to see Dawn looking so alive and happy again.
"Almost as perky as those newspeople," Willow smiled, "maybe we should see if she's been possessed."
"Very funny," Dawn rolled her eyes, "just because I personally believe the morning news anchors must suffer from demonic possession by some overly perky, happy demon does not mean that I can't be happy in the morning."
"Just teasing, Dawny," Willow said, glancing at Spike as she asked silently what they should do. She had woken up in his arms feeling as if she was finally where she belonged.
Everything had happened rather quickly, okay, maybe they'd actually recognized and acknowledged their feelings quickly but she'd kind of loved him for years. Since he'd broken down talking about being hurt by Drusilla when he'd kidnapped her, or maybe since he'd been the only one to listen after Oz left her. She didn't really know exactly when her crush on Spike had developed, knowing only that one day she realized she could easily love him.
"Dawn, luv, Willow and I have something to talk to you about," Spike said slowly, having no intention of his concealing his feelings from anyone. Willow loved him, had accepted him demon and all, and he wanted every bloody person in the world to know that this beautiful, intelligent, kind, powerful woman wanted him and loved him. Since he couldn't very tell everyone, he planned to at least tell those people that mattered to him, and Dawn was at the top of that list.
Okay, so she was the only one on the list besides Willow, Drusilla, and possibly, though he'd never admit it, Angel. He wasn't sure how his sire would like the fact that she'd fallen in love with a human, but he liked to believe that Dru wanted him happy. Besides, she'd always been fascinated by magic so he didn't think she'd mind his mate being a witch.
"You're both in love and finally happy?" Dawn smiled when they looked at her with surprise, "I already know that, silly! And I am very, very, very pleased about it. Of course, there will be some rules. No shagging where I might stumble upon you. Because, as much as you're both very attractive, you're kind of like my parents now and that's just eeew! There can be plenty of shagging, though, because that is part of a healthy and loving relationship. There must be lots of kissing and hand holding and romantic evenings together, also. I read in Cosmo that you should never let the romance fade from any relationship."
"Cosmo?" Spike arched a brow, "Bit too young to be reading stuff like that, Niblet."
"Piffle," Dawn smiled, "I'm nearly sixteen. I've known about the birds and the bees for a while."
"Dawn!" Willow laughed, thinking this was not at all how she imagined spending her morning.
"Willow!" Dawn laughed, "I said I knew about them, I certainly have no intention of running out and doing something stupid. I have school to focus on, after all. I want to be valedictorian just like you! Love can wait until I'm in college."
"Until you're fifty," Spike muttered, "You'll not date until you're too old to worry about hormone driven boys trying to get into your knickers!"
"We'll compromise when I'm older," Dawn smirked, finding it all too easy to consider these two people her parents. Buffy had always been her sister and had never really replaced Joyce in her life. Willow, though, was someone Dawn could listen to and respect and consider a surrogate mother. And Spike was definitely the male influence in her life. She loved Xander and Giles, but neither was around as much as Spike. She smiled evilly as she imagined the interrogation her future dates would face when she brought them to meet her parents.
"You're really okay with us, Dawn?" Willow asked softly, happy that the teen was seemingly pleased and joking, but wanting to make sure it wasn't too soon after Buffy's death.
"Willow, I love you both and want you to be happy. You make each other smile, and the love you share is real and romantic and the kind of love that I want to find someday, so, yes, I'm very okay with it," Dawn leaned over and hugged the redhead before hugging Spike. Pulling back, she smiled, "Let's eat."
~Part: 25~
"He took it hard," Dawn sighed as she leaned her head against the window of the car.
"He'll be fine," Spike said confidently. It had been five days since Angel and his gang of friends had arrived at the hotel. They'd been in some alternate dimension, it turned out, and had no idea what had been happening in Sunnydale.
Willow had been on the sofa when they'd entered the hotel laughing, Spike had been entering the room from the kitchen with a soda for his girl, seeing Angel's face clearly when his grandsire had looked at the redhead whose smile had faded upon seeing them. She told him it had been like a sudden wave of emotion had washed over her as she'd remembered they were to tell their friends about Buffy's death, feeling guilty that she'd begun to accept that the slayer was gone and move on with her life, feeling worse that she had been finding her soulmate and now had to tell Angel that he'd lost his. Angel had known, whispering the slayer's name and receiving confrontation from Willow.
After that, Willow had stood and moved to Angel, giving him a tight hug as she had cried silently. He and Dawn had given them time, neither one being friendly with any of the group of strangers, though Dawn recognized a couple because of her memories. Finally, they'd joined Willow on the sofa and he'd made his relationship with Willow known to his grandsire by giving his Red a gentle kiss and wiping her tears before pulling her into his arms. Surprisingly, Angel seemed to approve, though he had given him the standard warning later that he'd die a torturous and painful death if he ever even thought about hurting the redhead.
They'd told the story of Glory, explaining Dawn's existence, the teen snuggled against Willow as they rehashed the events of the last few months. Angel had been quiet and broody, which was about normal, and Spike knew he planned to go away for a bit after they left so he could deal with the loss of Buffy in his own way.
Dawn had immediately hit it off with the friendly demon that was hanging out with Angel's group of humans. She and Lorne had chattered on like old friends once everyone had a chance to deal with what had happened in Sunnydale. In fact, Lorne had already arranged a visit to Sunnydale in a few weeks, wanting to get away from LA for a bit following the destruction of his club. Spike had been rather impressed with that Gunn bloke, a man of few words but loyal actions.
The skinny little girl had been a bit annoying, but he'd been told she was a captive in that demon world for a bit so he could understand her being a bit strange. She and Willow had had a few conversations, though Fred had been a bit timid and hesitant to really talk to anyone, seeming to prefer staying in her room. The cheerleader, Cordelia, had taken Dawn and Willow shopping, claiming it was the best therapy, and seemed to be an all right chit. Wesley had spent a little too much time talking to Willow, in Spike's opinion, though the redhead just laughed and said he had no reason to be jealous. Jealous? Him? Certainly not of some nancy boy former watcher, thank you very much, though he had done his best to distract the redhead from her intellectual conversations, getting her to confess she much preferred snogging him to chatting with Wussy.
"Angel is going to be okay," Willow said as she gave Dawn a smile, "he's hurt and grieving and just needs some time to deal with it all. I think he feels guilty that he wasn't around to help, blaming himself in a way. I had a talk with him, though, and told him that someone very wise told me that we couldn't feel guilty for what happened to Buffy because she made her choice and would do it again without hesitation if it meant saving us and the world."
"Wise, huh?" Spike smirked, "Guess that answers the question on whether you love me for my brain or my body."
"Was there every any doubt?" Willow teased, "Your body, definitely!"
"I don't know, Mom. He's kind of smart, sometimes," Dawn defended with a smile, her melancholy regarding Angel fading as they drove away from LA.
"Sometimes? Hmph," Spike sulked, his blue eyes lit with amusement.
"Poor baby," Willow cooed, "you know I admire your intelligence, Spike, but you are rather sexy when you sulk." She leaned over and kissed him, "I love you, Spike."
"I love you more," he smirked before looking back at Dawn, who was beaming, "Put your seatbelt on, luv. We're about to hit the freeway."
"Yes, Dad," Dawn smiled widely as she sat back and fastened her seatbelt. With a content smile on her pretty face, she looked out the window at the passing scenery, listening to Willow and Spike talk about what station to play on the radio, arguing affectionately in between exchanging brief kisses. She sighed happily, making herself comfortable for the drive home, looking forward to the future that awaited her family.
***THE END***