Feedback: Yes, please :-)
Rating: PG
Pairing: W/S
Disclaimer: All is owned by the great Joss, I merely use his characters because I'm too lazy to make up my own. The lyrics are from an Eric Clapton song and are totally not mine.
Summary: Spike and Willow reflect.
Timeline: Takes place sometime between the end of S4 and the beginning of S5.
Author's note: This idea just kind of popped into my head as I was listening to the song. I don't know if this can really be considered a fic, since it's more a reflection and not a whole lot of plot. Either way, it's just something that I needed to get written so that I could clear the space in my head for other things! It's unbeta'd, and I apologize if there are any errors. If anyone would like to flesh this out a bit and turn it into a real story, they're welcome to do so.
Things set off with //this// are song lyrics.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spike looked longingly across the room, his eyes picking her out of the crowd easily. His new wife. He wished this was all over so that they could be alone together, instead of packed into a room with several dozen people he didn't know and couldn't care less about.
She looked radiant in the suit she had painstakingly picked out for the occasion; the feminine cut managed to make the most of her physical attributes, while still making her appear demure and shy. The color picked up the highlights of gold in her hair and made it look like it was truly aflame as it swirled around her pixie face. He smiled slightly when she turned, as if she could feel his eyes upon her, and waved happily in his direction.
The room was busy and filled with a mood of excitement and joy. So many preparations had been going on lately that he had not had the chance to sit back and enjoy life. He promised himself that he would make up for that on their honeymoon. Two weeks alone in Alaska, where the nights would last almost all day. It had been her idea, of course. She had wanted something that they could enjoy together. After all, they couldn't spend the entire two weeks in bed, she had insisted.
Although he had opened his mouth to disagree with her, he found that before he could speak a word she had covered his mouth with her own, and from there on out conversation had been…unnecessary.
Spike considered the long journey it had taken them to get to this place. It had not been an easy courtship; she was not an easy person to win. But he knew with a certainty that he felt in his long-dead heart it had been worth the effort.
When he thought about it, he had to concede that it had started with Dawn and Buffy. And the monks, of course.
Once the world had been saved, and the key was no longer needed, she had faded away silently, like mist on the morning countryside. And so, he noticed quickly, had his feelings for Buffy.
In the end he decided that those feelings had been as artificial as Dawn had been, created by the monks in an attempt to keep the key safe.
So with a chip in his head and nothing else in his long empty life, he took a hard look at what Sunnydale had to offer, and finally noticed…her.
Must have been those damn monks, he figured. Nothing short of an altered reality could have made him ignore Willow's charms, causing him instead following Buffy like a whipped little puppy dog.
But once the blinders were off…
It was as if the clouds had parted on a particularly overcast day, and suddenly he saw the blinding light of the sun. Only it hadn't burned, it had cast a soft glow over everything in his life, and left him in awe of her. Both the man and the demon had come together with a purpose: to add her to his life.
Once that decision had been made, her fate was sealed. Of course, it took a while to convince *her* of that fact.
She had led him on a merry chase, she certainly had.
The sounds of the party around him faded away as he remembered how it had been in the beginning. She had been so shy, so awkward around him. Every time he had asked her out, she had blushed and demurred and told him that she couldn't possibly. She had a thousand excuses why it would never work out, but he had patiently countered each and every one of them, until she had no choice but to give in and go out with him.
That initial date had been uncomfortable at first, but once he got her to open up, she realized that they had a lot in common. A love of history, of reading, and an appreciation of a good joke were things that they had built on, until one day she smiled at him, and he knew that she felt just as strongly for him as he did for her.
He had taken it slowly; she had been hurt before, first by the wolf who had left her high and dry, and then again when the other witch had left her. Spike had wanted to rail at the two of them, prove to them that they had been stupid and shortsighted. But since he had been the one to benefit from their absence, he decided that it really wasn't worth it.
And then, after a particularly grueling night of fighting, she had taken him home with her and they had made love in her bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and childhood books.
That next morning, he had proposed.
The demon had called him a pouf and a sappy moron and other things that had made no difference. But in the end both the human and the demon realized that this was something that was important to her, and if it made her happy, then it was worth it.
And that was why he was standing here, pretending to listen to people he couldn't care less about, when all he really wanted to do was bury himself deep inside his woman.
~~~*~~~
Willow felt his eyes upon her. Even in a roomful of people, with the crush of humanity all around her, she could still feel him, could search him out and focus upon him without consciously thinking about it. Maybe it was a vampire thing. Or maybe it was just a 'crazy in love' thing. She wasn't sure and didn't care.
He *was* staring at her; she had known he was, could feel it like a warm, comfortable flush crawling slowly up her back. She raised a hand and gave him a little wave, relaxing slightly at the warm smile he sent her direction.
She knew that this was not his idea of a good time. But he had done it for her, because he knew it was important to her and to her family, and she couldn't help but adore him even more because of it.
It had been an early evening outdoor wedding, attended only by her close family and friends, and a few of Spike's friends as well. She had debated whether she wanted to go with a traditional Jewish ceremony, or a free-flowing Wiccan ritual, but in the end they had decided upon a simple ceremony of their own fashioning, officiated by Clem, a friend of Spike's who had received his credentials online especially for this ceremony. Clem was such sweet, harmless demon who had been her friend almost from the moment she had met him, and it had just seemed right to have him join them.
Of course her parents had taken a bit of convincing. They had accepted the excuse that it was a hereditary condition without comment, but they weren't stupid and they lived on the hellmouth; she suspected that they had at least an inkling as to what Clem really was.
She hadn't told them about Spike. Well, she had told them about him obviously, but not that he was a vampire. The idea had crossed her mind once or twice, but she had never been able to say the words. Perhaps as she got older, and he didn't, they would figure it out.
And then there were her friends. When she and Spike had started dating, there had been a few raised eyebrows, but nothing much had been said. To her, at least. She suspected that Xander and Buffy had made threats against Spike's life and also his manhood if he were ever to hurt her. But to her, they had always stayed the same kind, supportive friends they had always been.
But when she had announced their engagement, things had changed. They had come to her, one at a time, and expressed their concern about this path that she had chosen. Maybe she shouldn't rush into this. Maybe they should date other people. Maybe she should seek professional help. The last had come from Xander, and although it was said in jest, she sensed a slight thread of seriousness that made her sad.
She had patiently explained to each and every one of them that she and Spike were in love. That he would never hurt her. And that she trusted him with her life. Literally, although they weren't aware of it.
The chip had stopped functioning about a month after their first date, and he had told her immediately, wanting to be honest with her, even if it changed their relationship. It hadn't. She had trusted him with the chip, and she trusted him now without it.
After spending almost a week trying to decide whether to share the news with Buffy, Willow had finally decided not to say anything. And true to his word, Spike had never given her any reason to regret that decision.
When he had proposed, she had almost turned him down. Not because she didn't love him, but because she did, so very much. She knew that this must be hell for him, and a part of her did not want to put him through it. But another part of her wanted the world to know that she loved him, and that she was pledging herself to him, through thick and thin, for better or for worse, and all of that traditional stuff.
So she had agreed. And ever since that moment, she had worked to find ways to get him involved with the process, including a honeymoon that she thought would be perfect for them.
And now, after months of preparation, the waiting was finally over. And all that was left was their life together.
~~~*~~~
As the soft strains of an Eric Clapton song filled the air, Spike sought her out, sneaking up behind her and circling his arms around her stomach. She giggled as he pulled her back against him, sighing and relaxing into him, molding her body to his.
"Dance with me?" he whispered into her ear, and she nodded eagerly. She took a moment to say polite good-byes to some relation she rarely saw and barely knew, and then pulled him eagerly onto the dance floor, pressing her body so closely to his that he was sure they were now only one person.
//We
go a party
And
everyone turns to see
This
beautiful lady
That's
walking around with me
And
then she asks me
Do
you feel alright
And
I say yes, I feel wonderful tonight//
And he did feel wonderful, he thought. Even through all of this three-ring circus, just knowing that she was near and that she loved him was enough to make him feel happy and content. Even the demon was quiet, awed by the love she had for them.
//I
feel wonderful
Because
I see the love light in your eyes
And
the wonder of it all
Is
that you just don't realize
How
much I love you//
They sang the final words of the song to each other, a smile of happiness and contentment on both of their lips as they each lost themselves in the other's eyes.
Without a word they left the floor and quietly snuck out of the room, heading for Spike's DeSoto, and their future together.
The end