Part 1

It had been two days since Buffy and Riely found a beaten up Spike
and brought him over to Willow's house. Willow and Spike had grown
closer than she had ever thought they would. In the two days that he
had been in her home he had become both her lover and her best
friend. It was odd. She and Spike were so different in so many ways,
and yet they had their similar sides too. They were both loyal to
friends, and they both had shields that most people didn't realize
were there. Those shields hid their vulnerable, tender, lonely
hearts. She was so happy that they had finally found each other. She
had realized long ago that Spike had a loyal side to him like no one
else she knew. Look at the way he took care of Dru. He'd never leave
her, not like the others had.  His fierce, fiery loving the past two
days had proven that. He was hers. And she was his. Now she just had
to slowly let the rest of her friends know. That was not a task she
was looking forward to in the least. Willow sighed softly just
thinking about it.

"Why the sigh, Love?" Spike asked Willow, leaning against the doorway
of her bedroom.

"Spike! I thought you were downstairs." Willow grinned at him. "I was
just thinking of what the others will say, when they find out about
all this."

"Who cares love?" Spike asked as he crossed the threshold of her room
and sunk down on the floor by the chair she was sitting in. He rested
his arms in her lap and looked up into her green eyes. "I don't care
what anyone thinks." He reached up, and touched her face softly with
his hand. "I am yours. You are mine. To hell with what slutty and
chubby think."

"I care." Willow smiled down at him. "I won't have them ruining this
thing that we have. Its to good. I know that Xander will be wiggin
over this, I have no clue how Buffy will act though. Leme tell you
one thing, if she tries to stake you I'll turn her into a rat."

"Isn't one of your friends being a rat good enough darlin?" Spike
laughed.

"Well all I can say is Buffy better watch herself around you. You're
MY vampire. She can keep Mr. Pointy to herself."

Spike threw his head back and laughed. Willow grinned at him. She had
never heard him laugh so freely as the days he'd been in her home. It
was a nice.

Buffy stopped outside Willow's bedroom door and her eyes widened as
she heard Spike's laughter coming from inside.

"I'm your vampire eh missy?" She heard Spike asking Willow in a sexy
voice. <My god, when did Spike develop a sexy voice?>

Buffy glanced in the room and her eyes widened as she saw Willow lean
down to kiss Spike.

"Don't you forget it."  She heard Willow reply. Willow, acting all
possessive of Spike? Buffy grinned, and then giggled. This was too
sweet!

She breezed in to the room quickly, making sure they didn't have a
chance to disentangle themselves.

"Hi guys!" Buffy chirped happily. She sat on Willow's bed acting as
if there was nothing unusual about a vampire kissing her best
friend. "I see your feeling better Spike!" She grinned.

"Much better, slayer." He said dryly. Willow could sense his guard
quickly coming up. He wasn't about to let the slayer see his softer
side. He stood up and crossed the room, and stood in the glass
doorway that connected Willow's room to the outside room. It was
night, so he could make his escape. "I hear I'd have died if it
wasn't for you. I'm assuming you just wanted the chance to stake me
yourself. Didn't know I meant so much to you."

"Course you do, Spike." Buffy quipped. "You're my dearest enemy. We
promised to kill each other ourselves, remember? No outside
influences involved."

"Well thanks for saving my death for another day." Spike flashed a
smirk at her.  "Now, I'm sure you two ladies have lots of fluffy
stuff to gossip about. I'm going out for a smoke, and a walk. I'll be
back in a couple of hours, Red."  He lightly pushed himself off of
the balcony and was gone into the night.

Buffy settled down on her stomach on Willow's bed. <Spike's right.>
She thought as she watched emotions flickering across her friend's
face. <We do have lots of fluffy stuff to talk about.>

"So, spill it girl!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "I caught you two
kissing, and I know there's something going on. Give the dirt!"

Willow lifted her eyes slowly from the spot she had been looking at
on the floor. She was amazed at Buffy's reaction. It wasn't anything
like she had thought it would be.

"Your not angry?" She asked her face a mask of confusion. "I was sure
you'd be angry and he'd get angry back and you'd both go all GRR at
each other. But your smiling which means your not angry, which means
that you must approve. Of Me, and a vampire. And not just of me and
any vampire but me and Spike, Mr. Big bad himself."

"Take a breath Will!" Buffy laughed. "No, I'm not angry, but I will
be if you don't spill! Was he a good kisser?!"

"The best." Willow glowed at Buffy. "He always knows exactly what I
need and how I need it. He's amazing. Nothing at all like everyone
thinks."

"Hold on Willow" Buffy interrupted with a grin. "I wouldn't want you
to have to repeat yourself over and over again."

Buffy reached for Willow's phone and started dialing a number Willow
recognized instantly. Xander's.  Willow stifled a groan. She had
wanted everyone to know, but not all at once, and not so soon! She
didn't think she could take all of this at once.

"Anya, you and Xander need to get your butts over here right now."
Buffy listened to the complaints in the receiver. "I don't care if
your having sex, this is way more fun than sex. Willow has something
she needs to tell us." Willow heard Anya's muffled voice coming
through the other end. "No really Anya this gossip is just as good,
if not better than sex. Of course it'll be even better if you guys
manage to pick up Ben and Jerry's on the way." Buffy hung up the
phone and giggled. "That Anya!" She quipped. "Only thing that
interests her is sex."

"I can certainly see why." Willow blushed and grinned. "Especially if
its done right!"

"Willow!" Buffy laughed merrily. "So Spiky does it right?"

"Uh- Uh – Not telling till the others get here!" Willow grinned at
Buffy. The two girls settled down to lighter gossip until Xander and
his girlfriend showed up.

*************************************************************

"You are WHAT with WHO?" Xander exclaimed, his face going
pale. "Where is he? Where is that god damn Deadboy Jr? I'll stake him
myself."

"Xander you'll do no such thing!" Willow snapped, her eyes flashing
angrily. "You touch my Spike and you answer to me!" She stomped her
foot and stared at him angerly. "You of all people should be happy
for me, not wanting to go off and stake my man at the first
opportunity."

"I think its great that Willow and Spike are having sex. Everyone
should be having sex in some for or another." Said Anya as she
smoothed her skirt. "Can we go home and have sex now Xander? Willow's
happy, Spike's happy, who cares about the rest? Besides I want to try
that new position again. Last time you hurt my back to much."

Xander blushed, then paled, then blushed and then paled. "You aren't
having sex with him are you Willow?" He asked his eyes going
wide. "Who knows how many people Spike has been with. He could have
any number of diseases."

"It's not your business Xander, but yes I am having sex with Spike.
And he's been with exactly 5 people. He told me himself." Willow
replied angrily.
"Five people?" Xander asked. "I don't believe it. Deadboy jr has been
around for 126 years."

"Five people. Angel, Dru, Harmony, his lover before he was turned,
and me. He's a very loyal man Xander Harris. He loves me. And I love
him. And your not going to stand in my way of happiness." Willow's
eyes filled with tears as she looked at Xander. "I'm not asking you
to understand, or to like him, but please, put up with him for my
sake."

Xander sighed and looked down at the floor. Willow seldom asked him
for anything. And she was crying. He didn't like to see his Willow
crying for any reason. But he especially hated it when he was the
reason she cried. He looked up, his chocolate colored eyes serious
and full of concern.

"Alright Willow, I'll put up with him. I can even be nice to him if
he's making you happy. But, the minute his undead ass makes you cry,
he's mine. Now please, Wills, stop crying."

"I knew you'd come around." Willow smiled through her tears. She
leaned over and hugged Xander fondly.

"Now can we have sex?" Anya asked.

"How about those pints of ice cream you guys brought over instead?"
Willow asked with a grin.

"Well, it will have to do. But when they're gone Xander and I are
going home and having sex, ok?" Anya answered.

Willow grinned and shrugged at Anya. "Have it your way."

***********************************************************
 

Willow sighed sleepily as she slipped on a pajama top and sank into
bed. Her friends had taken her and Spike better than she thought they
would. Which was good, because she didn't want to give up Spike for
anyone. And it would of hurt if she had lost any of her friends
because of this.

Willow snuggled deeper into her blankets and closed her eyes. She had
wanted to wait up for her new lover, but her eyelids were so heavy,
and the excitement of the day had caught up with her. She quickly
fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
 

*****************************************************************

Spike smiled as he entered the room a few hours later, only to find
Willow sleeping soundly in her bed. Her arm was wrapped around a
pillow, and her leg was flung out over the edge of the bed. She wore
a pajama top over her upper half, but the creamy white skin of her
legs could be seen. Spike stepped closer to the bed, and slowly
trailed a finger up the side of her legs. She stirred a bit, but
didn't wake up. He wanted to do so many things to her. He licked his
lip softly as he watched her sleep and sighed. There would be time
later for that. She needed her rest. He quickly undressed, and slid
close beside her on the bed. She rolled over in her sleep, wrapped
her arms and a leg around him and pulled him close. He sighed
contently and kissed her forehead.

"I love you Willow." He whispered softly.

"Love you, Spike." Her lips mumbled as she curled up closer to him in
her sleep. Spike glanced up once, making sure the curtains were
secure on her windows, and closed his eyes. He was the luckiest man
on this earth right now, and he knew it.

*****************************************************************

Ira and Sheila Rosenburg climbed the stairs to his daughter's room.
It was early in the morning, and they had just gotten in from a long
flight. They were going to glance in on her, and then go straight to
sleep.

Ira opened his daughter's door slowly and peeked his head in. His jaw
dropped at what he saw. His daughter, mostly naked, was wrapped
around a strange, older man. He pushed the door open wider, and heard
his wife gasp at the sight.

"WILLOW!" He bellowed angrily, causing his daughter to lift her head
blinking at them.
He shook his head as she realized it was her parents, and scrambled
to pull the covers up over the man in her bed.

"Mom… Dad…" She said in a low shaky voice. "Your um…Home."
 

Part 2

"Mom. Dad. I can explain." Willow said as she threw
covers over herself and Spike. She could feel Spike's
body against her. He looked mellow, but she could feel
the muscles in his body. They were ready to spring
into action if need be. She rested a hand on his arm
as she sat up.

"What do you think your doing, sleeping with a man in
my house? You were raised better Willow!" Her father
bellowed at her. "I want you dressed and downstairs,
pronto." Her father slammed the door and she could
hear him stomp down the stairs.

"Not exactly the first impression I wanted to make on
your parents, pet." Spike muttered as he ran his
fingers through his wild blond hair. "Why didn't you
tell me they were coming home?"

"I didn't know." She sighed. "I thought that they were
coming home next weekend."

Spike stood up, and pulled his jeans on over his body.
Willow watched him get dressed as her mind raced in
circles.

"What am I going to do Spike? My parents are so angry!
They never seem to care about my life except when I do
something that seems wrong to them." Willow walked
over to her closet, pulled out a sundress, and slipped
it over her head, without bothering to take the time
for undergarments.

"You mean what are WE going to do love." Spike said as
he wrapped his arms around her. "Its us now. No more
"I". Whatever happens, we go through it together,
beautiful."

Willow flashed Spike a smile then pushed him away so
she could run a brush quickly through her hair. She
pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

"Willow!" Her father yelled. "Willow Rosenburg I want
you down here right now!"

"Time to face the music." Willow muttered. She headed
to the door, Spike right behind her.
 

The next twenty minutes were spent with Willow
defending herself to her father. He ranted and raved
and shook his finger and even broke into some Hebrew.
The whole time her mother wrung her fingers and gave
Willow sad-eyed glances. Spike sat back, and let
Willow defend herself, occasionally giving her hand a
squeeze to show his support. Otherwise he said
nothing. He knew that Willow loved her parents, but he
didn't understand their relationship enough to say
anything. It had been a long, long time since he had
had a relationship with his parents. Hell, he didn't
even remember his parents names, so distant was their
memories.

"Young lady, I expected you to be a better person.
Only worthless people bring strangers into their
parents' homes and sleep with them while their
parents' aren't around!" Ira bellowed at his daughter.
 

That was the point that Spike had enough.  He stood up
and glared at Willow's father.

"Your daughter is worth more than you will ever
realize!" Spike hissed with his blue eyes flashing as
he pulled Willow close. "You and your wife gallivant
around the country, leaving your daughter here to fend
for herself. You have no idea of what she does
everyday, and how she helps other people. You have no
idea how she does in her classes, except for the
bloody report cards the school sends you. You have no
idea what she feels, or how she's doing or anything
else for that matter. You leave your most priceless
treasure at home alone, day in and day out, in an
empty house! So when you are talking about worthless
people, take a look at yourself in the mirror!"

Willow stared at Spike, a horrified expression on her
face. No one had ever stood up to her father quite in
that manner before. She watched her father's face as a
mixture of emotions ran across his face.

"I have heard enough!" Yelled her father. "Willow! You
are grounded! Go to your room! I don't want you to see
this boy again!"

"That worked when I was twelve daddy." Willow said
softly as a sad look crossed her face. "It won't work
now. I'm a grown woman now. You can't ground me. And
I'm tired of you yelling at me. You're going to have
to accept that I've grown up, and changed, and might
not always do things you like now."

"Fine then." Her father stated in a flat voice. "If
you're so grown up then you don't need my support
anymore. No more checks for college, and you can find
someplace else to live in sin in. I will no longer
consider you my daughter if you continue seeing this
man." Willow's mother gasped, tears in her eyes. She
twirled, and ran upstairs.
 

"So be it." Willow said softly, tears running down her
face. She picked up her purse, grabbed Spike's hand,
and pulled him into the garage.   She heard the sound
of something breaking. "Good thing mom and dad gave me
this old Mercedes for my birthday two years ago."
Willow said dryly.  The Mercedes was in good condition
despite the 100,000 miles it already had on it. The
tinted windows would protect Spike from the sun. She
had left it sitting in the garage for the past couple
of years, seeing as she never really needed to drive
anywhere. She tossed the car keys to Spike and said.
"You are going to have to drive, I'm to emotional."

"Where to pet?" Spike asked tenderly as he slid into
the driver's seat.

"Anywhere but here." Willow replied.

  Spike started the car, and pulled out of the
driveway. He glanced occasionally at Willow as he
watched her body shake with tears. He longed to reach
out and hold her, but kept both hands on the wheel. He
knew she was hurting, but was unsure how to respond to
her pain.  With no other plan of action, he drove her
back to the college. At least she could shower and
change in the dorms.

Willow tried to control her crying as the car pulled
into the freshman parking lot on campus. She wiped her
eyes, and looked in her mirror.

"Goddess, I'm a mess." Willow sighed.

"Its understandable pet." Spike answered as he shut
off the car. "I'm sorry about the fight with your
parents."

"It is not your fault, Spike. My father's expectations
are hard to live up to, that's all. At least now I
won't be worrying about what he'll say anymore." She
said sadly.

"Oh love." Spike reached out, and pulled Willow into a
deep hug. "I told you that we were in this together,
and I mean it. I love you. I'll pay your way through
school if that's what you want, pet. We will not let
that man ruin your life."

"You don't have that kind of money, Spike." Willow
sighed. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed her
face into his chest.

Spike lifted her face with a finger and cupped her
face in his hands.

"You would be surprised at what one can accumulate
over the years, love." He whispered softly. "And, we
are in this together now. What's mine is yours." He
leaned down and pressed his lips lightly against
Willow's. "Trust me, I think I can cover your college
expenses. Now, lets go to your room and get some rest,
darling."

"But Spike, the sun!"

"What do you think the blanket in your backseat is
for?" Spike flashed her a devilish grin as he grabbed
the blanket and wrapped it around his body. "Race you
to the dorm?"

Willow chuckled and she followed him back to her room.
 Somehow - Despite her parents' reaction to Spike, she
had a feeling things were going to be all right
 

**************************************************

That night, at the Bronze, Willow and Spike were
sitting at a table having a few drinks, when the rest
of the "Scooby" gang showed up.

Xander wandered over to their table and absentmindedly
took a sip of Willow's drink. He choked when he
realized she was drinking rum and coke.

"Willow!" He sputtered, his eyes wide. "What are you
doing? You know what happened the last time you
drank!"

"Chill out Chubs." Spike laid a hand on Xander's arm
warningly. "She just had a spat with her parents this
morning. I'd say she deserves a drink after what she's
been through."

"What happened Wills?" Xander asked in surprise.

"My father disowned me." Willow said quietly, a tear
slipping down her cheek. "He saw me with Spike and
flipped out."

"He doesn't realize what he lost." Buffy said as she
walked in on the conversation. She gave her best
friend a hug and smiled when Willow rested her head on
her shoulder for a moment. "Willow, no matter what
your dad said or did, you still have us. We all love
you, and appreciate you for what you really are."

Xander nodded his head in agreement and added his own
two cents, "And you still have one member of your
family. That's me Wills. You and I have been family
since we were four, isn't that right bestest buddy?"

"Yea, that's right." Willow smiled bravely as the rest
of her friends surrounded her.

"What are you going to do now, Wills?" Buffy asked,
her eyes worriedly watching Willow's face. "I mean,
you told me in the dorm that your parents weren't
going to send you money anymore."

"I'm going to stick out the semester, and find a part
time job. Spike said that he'd support me through
college, but I don't want to be a burden."

"You'd never be a burden, pet." Spike growled.

"I know, love." Willow laid her hand on his and patted
it reassuringly. "But I want to try and do as much as
I can on my own."

Spike shook his head but didn't say anything as she
continued.

"After this semester, Spike and I will decide what to
do then. I'm going to stay in the dorm until that
point. From now on I'm just going to play things by
ear, I suppose, and see what happens. Who knows, in a
few months Spike may be sick of me."

"Never, love." Spike growled, pulling her close for a
deep passionate kiss. "The day I get sick of you is
the day that I'm dust. I'm not your parents, to go all
wishy washy on you when you do something I don't like.
I'm in love with you. Not your actions, or your words,
or your deeds. It's you I love. I plan on being with
you forever. Whatever happens, we'll go through it
together."

The table went silent. Spike's declaration of love had
startled the others, for they hadn't realized how deep
his feelings really ran. Willow's eyes flickered from
a bright green, to a deep emerald green as she gazed
into his face. Her face softened, and her hand softly
touched his cheek.

 "I love you too, Spike." Willow finally whispered,
her fingers tracing the shape of his face. The rest of
the Scoobies realized that maybe they shouldn't be
watching this tender moment, and started drifting away
one by one. Spike leaned in and kissed Willow,
ignoring the smoke, the noise, and the crowd. Willow
responded by wrapping her arms around him, and pulling
him closer, until they became one. The rest of the
world was forgotten as the witch and the vampire got
lost in one another, all their worries and troubles
slipping away.

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